Posted on 02/27/2016 2:37:49 AM PST by moose07
The bridge, the world's first single span made of iron, was erected over the River Severn in 1779.
Historians say the site is an important part of the early years of the Industrial Revolution.
English Heritage said the site has been damaged by stresses in the original ironwork and a 19th Century earthquake.
The work is set to begin in 2017.
Engineers have been investigating the bridge for the last three years, and are set to finish their examinations this week.
Kate Mavor, English Heritage's chief executive, said the renovations will ensure the Iron Bridge Gorge site "will continue to inspire us for generations to come".
"An iconic symbol of the Industrial Revolution, it is arguably the most important bridge ever built and without doubt, one of the most important sites in our care," she said.
Ironbridge: A history
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Ref ping.
Interesting that there was a need for such a span before the first steam engine trains. That old curiosity cat killer lead to more information. First railways or wagonways were for the transport of coal at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Stands to reason, heavy cargo with high demand. Shropshire area later had a wooden rail system for horse drawn wagons.
More interesting background.
Morning,
Lovely piece of iron work.
The castings are smooth one side and rough the other, I think it was cast using the ground as the mould.
All the little bits bolted together, using who knows what thread on the bolts.
Threads? Whitworth standard was published in 1841, so had to be some home brew oddity.
Should the restoration effort entail Whitworth bolts, I shall donate my 1958 Jaguar wrenches. Dunno why I still have them....
Though I am math-challenged, I picked up an interest in the engineering of those days through a chance reading of L.T.C. Rolt's "Short History of Machine Tools," which led to "Victorian Engineering," which led to (book lovers know how it works) Telford, Trevithick, the Stephensons, Brunel, and so on. Intertwined with them are the Darbys, John Wilkinson, William Hazeldine and all the other "ironmasters."
Gold is for the mistress -- silver for the maid --
Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.
"Good!" said the Baron, sitting in his hall,
"But Iron -- Cold Iron -- is master of them all."
(A little Rudyard Kipling for FR this morning.)
Mr. niteowl77
Tom Rolt, a name well known from canal narrowboating.
Instrumental in saving britains old waterways from destruction.
Yes, a fine chap.
We, ( Royal we, lol) where using threads in the middle ages to hold some of the great Cathedrals up ,using iron rods and ‘chains’.
Amiens is a true beneficiary of said addition.
The threads would no doubt have been “ of pitches diverse”.
no comment, just a pitch to make this thread longer.
;>)
Oh, groan. :)
Thanks moose07.
Wow! Beautiful.
It sure is. :)
Deep in the heart of Coal and Steel country. Known as the Black Country.
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