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The Life of Thomas Telford-Part26_Samuel Smiles(1812-1904)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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Chirk, the height of the work was such as to render it impracticable



to construct it in the usual manner, upon masonry piers and arches

of sufficient breadth and strength to afford room for a puddled



water-way, which would have been extremelyhazardous as well as

expensive. He was therefore under the necessity of contriving some



more safe and economical method of procedure; and he again resorted

to the practice which he had adopted in the construction" target="_blank" title="n.建设；修建；结构">construction of the



Chirk Aqueduct, but on a much larger scale.

[Image] Pont-Cyslltau--Side view of Cast Iron Trough



It will be understood that many years elapsed between the period at

which Telford was appointed engineer to the Ellesmere Canal and the



designing of these gigantic works. He had in the meantime been

carefully gathering experience from a variety of similar



undertakings on which he was employed, and bringing his

observations of the strength of materials and the different forms



of construction" target="_blank" title="n.建设；修建；结构">construction to bear upon the plans under his consideration for

the great aqueducts of Chirk and Pont-Cysylltau. In 1795 he was



appointed engineer to the Shrewsbury Canal, which extends from that

town to the collieries and ironworks in the neighbourhood of



Wrekin, crossing the rivers Roden and Tern, and Ketley Brook, after

which it joins the Dorrington and Shropshire Canals. Writing to his



Eskdale friend, Telford said : "Although this canal is only

eighteen miles long, yet there are many important works in its



course--several locks, a tunnel about half a mile long, and two

aqueducts. For the most considerable of these last, I have just



recommended an aqueduct of iron. It has been approved, and will be

executed under my direction, upon a principle entirely new, and



which I am endeavouring to establish with regard to the application

of iron."*[4]



It was the same principle which he applied to the great aqueducts

of the Ellesmere Canal now under consideration. He had a model made



of part of the proposed aqueduct for Pont-Cysylltau, showing the

piers, ribs, towing-path, and side railing, with a cast iron trough



for the canal. The model being approved, the design was completed;

the ironwork was ordered for the summit, and the masonry of the



piers then proceeded. The foundation-stone was laid on the 25th

July, 1795, by Richard Myddelton, Esq., of Chirk Castle, M.P., and



the work was not finished until the year 1803,--thus occupying a

period of nearly eight years in construction" target="_blank" title="n.建设；修建；结构">construction.



The aqueduct is approached on the south side by an embankment 1500

feet in length, extending from the level of the water-way in the



canal until its perpendicularheight at the "tip" is 97 feet;

thence it is carried to the opposite side of the valley, over the



river Dee, upon piers supporting nineteen arches, extending to the

length of 1007 feet. The height of the piers above low water in the



river is 121 feet. The lower part of each was built solid for 70

feet, all above being hollow, for the purpose of saving masonry as



well as ensuring good workmanship. The outer walls of the hollow

portion are only two feet thick, with cross inner walls. As each



stone was exposed to inspection, and as both Telford and his

confidential foreman, Matthew Davidson,*[5] kept a vigilant eye



upon the work, scamping was rendered impossible, and a first-rate

piece of masonry was the result.



[Image] Pont-Cyslltau Aqueduct

Upon the top of the masonry was set the cast iron trough for the



canal, with its towing-path and side-rails, all accurately fitted

and bolted together, forming a completely water-tight canal, with a



water-way of 11 feet 10 inches, of which the towing-path, standing

upon iron pillars rising from the bed of the canal, occupied 4 feet



8 inches, leaving a space of 7 feet 2 inches for the boat.*[6]

The whole cost of this part of the canal was 47,018L., which was



considered by Telford a moderate sum compared with what it must

have cost if executed after the ordinary manner. The aqueduct was



formally opened for traffic in 1805. "And thus," said Telford, "has

been added a striking feature to the beautiful vale of Llangollen,



where formerly was the fastness of Owen Glendower, but which, now

cleared of its entangled woods, contains a useful line of



intercourse between England and Ireland; and the water drawn from

the once sacred Devon furnishes the means of distributing



prosperity over the adjacent land of the Saxons."




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