Great Western Railway

This past Sunday, April 9th, the railway's current engineers decided to test the rumor once and for all. They weren't disappointed. | Ever since the completion of the Great Western Railway, in the 1840s, intrigue has swirled around the Box Tunnel, a long, steep bypass near Bath, England. | Unlike many tunnel rumors, these were sweet rather than sordid. The question was this: did the railway's creator, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, really have the tunnel carved in such a way that when the sun rose on his birthday-April 9th-it would be flooded with light? | While the west side's view wasn't quite so impressive, the engineers generously chalked that up to centuries of dirt and grime. | "When you look from the east portal, the cutting provides a lovely V-shape," communications manager Paul Gentleman told the Guardian. "The sun rose from the left and was shining directly down the tunnel. We couldn't see how far."