Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

40 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. wrought iron and about 1,200 tons of cast iron, 17,000 cubic yards of masonry and brick- work, and 14,000 cubic feet of timber. The total cost of the bridge was £225,000— a very moderate figure in view of the magni- tude and difficulty of the work. His Royal Highness the late Prince Consort A (after whom the structure was Pathetic Incident named) performed the opening ceremony on May 3, 1859. Un- happily, Brunel was prevented by illness from attending the function. Indeed, the circum- stances under which he saw his completed work for the one and only time are so pathetic as to call for reference here. It is related that, one morning in 1859, a carriage truck was slowly drawn across the bridge. On this vehicle was a couch, and on the couch lay the great engineer whose name must for all time be coupled with some of the engineering wonders of the world. It was the only occa- sion on which he saw his bridge in its final form, and on September 15 following the world was the poorer for his loss. Shortly after his death some of his friends on the board of the Cornwall Railway placed on the land archways, in raised letters, the inscription, “ I. K. Brunel, Engineer, 1859.” THE COMPLETED BRIDGE. Photo, Great Western Railway Company.