In the 1800s Yeovil was a centre of glove-making and the population expanded rapidly.[14] In the mid-19th century it became connected to the rest of Britain by a complex of railway lines that produced competition between the 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge lines of the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge lines of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). In 1853 the Great Western Railway line was opened between Taunton and Yeovil.