Iron Bridge design. From the book 'The life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, civil engineer', by Isambard Brunel. Published in London by Longmans, Green in 1870. Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), British civil engineer and ship designer. In 1825, Brunel helped his father to construct the first tunnel under the Thames in London, England. In 1830, he won the competition to design the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. In 1833, he was appointed engineer of the Great Western Railway (GWR), designing railway track between London and south-west England. He also designed trans-Atlantic steam ships, including the Great Britain, the Great Western, and the Great Eastern.