Epilogue
However, even Brunel was not infallible, and his foresight in allowing for slight movement of the suspension chains against supports on the bridge-deck to relieve stress, led to a weakening of the structure. In the 1950s, the speed of trains using the bridge was restricted to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), because some of the girders had become distorted. In 1962, a new structure to support the bridge beneath the main span was put in place. Nevertheless, Brunel's Chepstow bridge was a watershed, leading to a final refinement of the design in his great masterpiece, the Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar at Saltash.
Of the bridges mentioned here, the Windsor and Conwy bridges are still standing and in use, although the Conwy spans have been shortened using intermediate supports. The Britannia bridge sadly had to be replaced when some boys, bird-nesting, managed to set fire to the bridge lining. The Chepstow bridge also had to be replaced. But Brunel's brilliant and economical design concept lives on in the Royal Albert Bridge, which continues to carry the former Cornwall Railway main line into Cornwall.
Read more about this topic: Chepstow Railway Bridge
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