Note 3 — Chapter III

I may mention here that before Telford built the suspension bridge near Bangor, Mr. Rennie proposed a cast-iron bridge of several arches, on the site of the present Britannia Bridge, which would ultimately have carried the railway, but the scheme was considered too bold at the time. The possibility of the construction of the present magnificent bridge, which marks an era in engineering, is of course due to the great improvements in the manufacture of iron since Mr. Rennie’s time. Thus every age has its specialty, and what cannot be done at one time becomes practicable at another.