Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Wonder viaduct

Penkridge Railway Viaduct

I don’t care what anyone says: bridges are amazing things.    The Penkridge Railway Viaduct over the River Penk looks dull (I admit) from a distance - but it is a work of art in fact.
Thomas Brassey was the contractor; and it opened for business in 1837.  (This work was the making of Brassey – from then on he became the great railway builder of the century.  His biography says that by 1847 he had built one out of every three rail miles in Britain...)

One of the wonders of Staffordshire!

3 comments:

  1. It feels quite enduring, and seems to fit its surroundings well.

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  2. My grandfather was an engineer. He could examine a bridge (or a dam, or a ship, or a good sewer...) for hours. It was all art to him.

    Nice photo!

    Robin
    Rusty Ring: Reflexions of an Old-Timey Hermit

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    Replies
    1. I think I understand a little your grandfather's appreciation for such things. Take away the everyday function and they really are amazing objects.
      The wonderful, old sewers below Istanbul are now a tourist attarction - and I, for one, can see why!

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