Brunel took an idea first proposed in 1799 to move goods pneumatically. Jacob and Joseph Samuda were shipbuilders and engineers who first came up with a practical solution in 1848 which involved a continuous cast iron pipe laid between the rails of a railway track. The pipe had a slot in the top so the leading vehicle in a train carried a piston inserted in the tube which propelled the train. Brunel designed a section that was constructed in Devon around 1848 but problems with the leather seal on the cast iron tube caused by freezing stiffening the seal, or by heat causing the seal to dry and shrivel, forced the abandonment of the system. The story has it rats were responsible for eating the tallow used to lubricate the leather seal, but there is no evidence to prove this, however, it's now become an entrenched legend. The photo shows an example of Atmospheric Railway track at the Didcot Railway Center - 5 Sep 2019 William Slim.