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The Life of Thomas Telford-Part32_Samuel Smiles(1812-1904)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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Craig-Ellachie a light cast-iron arch of 150 feet span, with a rise



of 20 feet, the arch being composed of four ribs, each consisting

of two concentric arcs forming panels, which are filled in with



diagonal bars.

The roadway is 15 feet wide, and is formed of another arc of



greater radius, attached to which is the iron railing; the

spandrels being filled by diagonal ties, forming trelliswork.



Mr. Robert Stephenson took objection to the two dissimilar arches,

as liable to subject the structure, from variations of temperature,



to very unequal strains. Nevertheless this bridge, as well as many

others constructed by Mr. Telford after a similar plan, has stood



perfectly well, and to this day remains a very serviceable

structure.



[Image] Craig-Ellachie Bridge.

Its appearance is highly picturesque. The scattered pines and beech



trees on the side of the impending mountain, the meadows along the

valley of the Spey, and the western approach road to the bridge cut



deeply into the face of the rock, combine, with the slender

appearance of the iron arch, in rendering this spot one of the most



remarkable in Scotland.*[13] An iron bridge of a similar span to that

at Craig-Ellachie had previously been constructed across the head



of the Dornoch Frith at Bonar, near the point where the waters of

the Shin join the sea. The very severe trial which this structure



sustained from the tremendous blow of an irregular mass of fir-tree

logs, consolidated by ice, as well as, shortly after, from the blow



of a schooner which drifted against it on the opposite side, and

had her two masts knocked off by the collision, gave him every



confidence in the strength of this form of construction, and he

accordinglyrepeated it in several of his subsequentbridges,



though none of them are comparable in beauty with that of

Craig-Ellachie.



Thus, in the course of eighteen years, 920 miles of capital roads,

connected together by no fewer than 1200 bridges, were added to the



road communications of the Highlands, at an expense defrayed partly

by the localities immediately benefited, and partly by the nation.



The effects of these twenty years' operations were such as follow

the making of roads everywhere--development of industry and



increase of civilization. In no districts were the benefits

derived from them more marked than in the remote northern counties



of Sutherland and Caithness. The first stage-coaches that ran

northward from Perth to Inverness were tried in 1806, and became



regularly established in 1811; and by the year 1820 no fewer than

forty arrived at the latter town in the course of every week, and



the same number departed from it. Others were established in

various directions through the highlands, which were rendered as



accessible as any English county.

Agriculture made rapid progress. The use of carts became



practicable, and manure was no longer carried to the field on

women's backs. Sloth and idleness gradually disappeared before the



energy, activity, and industry which were called into life by the

improved communications. Better built cottages took the place of



the old mud biggins with holes in their roofs to let out the smoke.

The pigs and cattle were treated to a separate table. The dunghill



was turned to the outside of the house. Tartan tatters gave place

to the produce of Manchester and Glasgow looms; and very soon few



young persons were to be found who could not both read and write

English.



But not less remarkable were the effects of the road-making upon

the industrial habits of the people. Before Telford went into the



Highlands, they did not know how to work, having never been

accustomed to labour continuously and systematically. Let our



engineer himself describe the moral influences of his Highland

contracts:--"In these works," says he, "and in the Caledonian



Canal, about three thousand two hundred men have been annually

employed. At first, they could scarcely work at all: they were



totally unacquainted with labour; they could not use the tools.

They have since become excellent labourers, and of the above number



we consider about one-fourth left us annually, taught to work.




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