A steamroller & traction engines.
This lad is an old hand, carrying on the tradition with his own miniature engine, just like Dad's.
A steam crane moving great hunks of iron. The chap in the white shirt was covered in smuts & oil. I have no idea how he (or more likely his poor wife or Mum) would ever get it clean.
Canals & rivers were used to transport heavy goods in those days. This is the Hay Inclined Plane.
The genius behind the Shropshire "tub boat" canal system was William Reynolds (1758-1803), cousin of Abraham Darby III. The Hay incline was the equivalent of 27 locks and was worked by only four men. It could pass a pair of five ton tub-boats in four minutes whereas it would have taken up to three hours to raise a vessel up 27 locks.
The goods were loaded into aptly named "tub boats" which, when they reached this spot, were chivvied onto underwater cradles on rails. The cradles were then pulled out of the water, boats, coal, and all, and sent downhill on rails at a pace controlled by a counterweight - another tub boat coming up, loaded with water. At the bottom, the cradles were once again submerged and the tub boats released to make their way to market.
The famous Iron Bridge over the River Severn that the town is named after.
The bridge opened on New Year's Day 1781 and was the result of work by the architect Thomas Pritchard and Abraham Darby III. Unfortunately Thomas Pritchard did not live to see it finished. Abraham Darby received a gold medal from the Royal Society of Arts for his endeavours. It was universally regarded at the time as the first bridge to be built solely of iron anywhere in the world. It contains nearly 400 tons of castings, equivalent to the output of a blast furnace during the period of 3 to 4 months. These were all manufactured at the nearby iron works. A toll was charged to cross the bridge.
The River Severn from the Iron Bridge. Looks peaceful now but it's prone to severe flooding in the winter months. The worst recorded flood was in 1947 when the water level was much higher than the roofs of the homes built on the sides of the gorge in this shot.
This place reeks of history & it would take more than one visit to see it all. I intend going back there in the near future.
