Weekly national intelligencer., 1847-09-18
THE MENAI VIADUCT.

The following description Of the supendous bridge pro-
posed I've erected the Menai Straits, and pro-
gross, is from the Manchester (English) Examiner
we suppose ourselves stationed in boat in the middle
OF the Mena Straits few hundred yards distant from the
new bridge on the south side, and suppose il finished,
shall wonder Of the world of this kind FIRST there the
middle pier rising Of the water founded the Britannia
rock, alter which the bridge named This rock seen
at low water The breadth Of this pier 81 by SO feet The
blocks OF stone and eight feet long by three and four
feet in breadth and deepnes and they RISE upon sone
until the pier 230 feet high At the distance Of 46O feet
each side Of this centre pier, there rise the waters
edge two other piers Of the gigantic breadth and heghh
while each side Of these two pers at the distance $50
feet there rise two walls Continuing ouwards, the wall on
right ham, the Carnarvon shore, does extend It's
ponderous bulk far back for the land is high and bold and
the railway along its elevated brow and once laws
hold Of the bridge But left hand which the An
gesea shore, the wall is the forehead and end Of mighty en-
bankmen which the railway Is raised TO a level Of the
bridge There then, the four spaces before u.s. across
which, in the iron tubes, the railway laid, namely, two
spaces each side Of the centre pier Of 46O feet ach
the reader measure 400 feet street road and be
will wonder at the of this structuc)-and two more
spaces Of $50 feet respectively at each end The tubes
eight in number each Of them 80 feet the exterior sde
and 27 feet high in the interior Each is fourteen feet wide
and they laid in couples parallel each other In the
WHOLE with the breadth Of the piers and the nndwad build
ngs, the length Of the bridge is onehd Of mile In height
the three piers are, already said 230 feet Measuring from
mark TO the bottom of the tubes the height is 30
feet the tubes being 80 feet the sdc and the bier 10 feet
above their upper surface. As The two walls
which rise upon each Shore four lions each end
the bridge The lions contain about 600 cubic feet OF stone
They lie couched, and yet the height Of each feet the
greatest breadth the body is nine fct the length 25
feet; the breadth Of each paw two feet four inches. The
tubes made Of plates o iron Of various hkne.ses rvct
ed together The iron increases thickness as we proceed
towads the centre The roofs Of the tubes are formed
cells, and also the floors These cells formed OF iron
plates set edge the cells Of The roof being within frac-
ton of foot nine inches square, and those Of the floor
ing foot nine inches wide and feet three nces deep
The rails which the trains laid these cells OF the
floor The flat bottom the two upright Sides and the at
roof OF each tube formed Of pnes The hnnest Of which
quarter Of inch, and the hckest three quarters Of
inch. The weight Of each Of the four long tubes will be
ab6u, 300 tons the weight Of each Of the four short
about 600 tors In tie whole there will be at least GOO
tons Of iron used The masonry was contracted for by b.
Novel; & Go. at I30 000k but from alterations in the plans
il will cost 200,O00 They expect finish the masonry by
August, s4s. II wcontan 500 900 cubic feet Of stone