Note 83 — Chapter VII · RAILWAY BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS.

When Mr. Brunel for architectural effect employed Gothic or pointed arches, he occasionally made the main part of the arch of a form different from the curve visible on the face, but he more frequently made it of the same pointed form throughout. In this case he did not obtain equilibrium by loading the crown, but he kept the line of pressure sufficiently within the thickness of the arch by strengthening the haunches.