A Remaining Bit / myLot

Brunel University Chepstow Bridge Fragment

London, England

April 5, 2018 8:33am CST

Wonderfully sunny day today and most welcome after all those rainy ones we have been having. Using the sunshine as an excuse, I pedalled into town for some shopping and followed my usual route through Brunel University. I always pass a lump of metal, shown in the photo, and had thought it was part of the SS Great Britain. Today I took a closer look and found it was part of the Great Western Railway bridge over the Wye, at Chepstow. All of these things are connected by the exceptional Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, voted second greatest Briton ever in 2002. What is fascinating about this unassuming lump is that it is a part of a wrought iron girder that was a continuous piece, which was 300 feet long. I never realised they had ability or the confidence to make girder that long in the Victorian era. Quite an impressive feat! As for the bridge, it was built in 1852 and replaced in 1962 after some of the girders became distorted.

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8 responses

Anna

@LadyDuck (502148)

• Italy

5 Apr 18

I see there is a plaque, it is impressive how those old bridges lasted so many years. A hard work for the times they were built.

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Anna

@LadyDuck (502148)

• Italy

5 Apr 18

@Ronrybs I have to say that they placed the sign very low, I am not sure I would have been able to read it.

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

5 Apr 18

@LadyDuck That's for all those young university students!

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

5 Apr 18

I was on my knees trying to read it! A bit weather beaten, but I got the basics

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Faye

@FayeHazel (40230)

• United States

9 Apr 18

I'm happy you got some sun and a bike ride. That is an awesome history behind the lump of metal

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

9 Apr 18

There are some very unassuming bits and pieces that have so much history attached to them

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

11 Apr 18

@FayeHazel Same here, you can find the unexpected in the most ordinary

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Faye

@FayeHazel (40230)

• United States

11 Apr 18

@Ronrybs it's amazing and makes me wonder what else I'm taking for granted that may have a really great story

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Marlina

@marlina (154103)

• Canada

16 Apr 18

Is that piece going to stay there as a "memorial"?

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

16 Apr 18

Yes, it is a fixture now

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

5 Apr 18

That bridge lasted a long time, didn't it?

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Judy Evans

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

6 Apr 18

@Ronrybs He could hardly have expected the great leap in the development in trains. When cars were first invented they thought that to go faster the 30mph would burst your eardrums. lol

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

6 Apr 18

@JudyEv You mean it doesn't!

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Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21504)

• London, England

5 Apr 18

He built it with a bit of flex, but it seems he overdid it and as trains got faster the damage began to accumulate