The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway built the Lickey Incline which opened in 1840. It was an engineering compromise, designed under protest by the company's engineer Captain Moorsom, to reduce the costs of construction by heading straight upwards, rather than meandering to take the gradient slowly. The design was mocked by leading engineers such as Stephenson and Brunel. The 1 in 37½ gradient imposed long-term costs on the operation of the railway, particularly the need for extra engines to push freight and passengers up the hill.