With this object, the inlet or natural harbour of Milford Haven was examined, and the South Wales Railway was carried to Neyland Point, opposite Pembroke, where the position is sheltered, and there is deep water at all times of tide for the largest vessels.
The pier at Neyland, or New Milford, which was made in 1857, consists of a timber viaduct, with a pontoon at the end, 150 feet long and 42 feet beam, loaded so as to draw about 7 feet. There is a depth of 16 feet alongside it at low water, and it is connected with the shore by a landing bridge. The pontoon is made of wrought iron, and has three transverse and two longitudinal bulkheads. It is moored by chain cables, which pass through two large hawse pipes, extending from the bottom nearly up to the deck, with cast-iron mouthpieces at their lower ends. The cables passing through these are anchored firmly to the ground at a considerable distance from the pontoon.
The pontoon was intended to be the centre of several others, which were to be moored in deeper water.
The rise of tide being sometimes as much as 25 feet, it was necessary that the landing bridge should be of considerable length, in order that there should be a moderate inclination at all times of tide. It is accordingly made in one span of 205 feet. It consists of two plate-iron side girders, of the uniform depth throughout of 14 feet, and width of 2 feet 6 inches. These are placed 12 feet 6 inches apart, the roadway being between them. The ends of the girders which rest on the pontoon are provided with cast-iron wheels, 1 foot 6 inches in diameter.
The pier has since been extended by additional pontoons, which were those used in the floating of the Saltash Bridge.
CHAPTER XV.
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.
THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851—THE CRYSTAL PALACE WATER TOWERS, 1853—POLYGONAL RIFLE, 1852—GUNNERY EXPERIMENTS, 1854—FLOATING GUN-CARRIAGE, 1854—RENKIOI HOSPITAL BUILDINGS, 1855.
THERE are several matters of importance in which Mr. Brunel was engaged, which could not under any system of classification be introduced into the preceding chapters; these are therefore collected under one head of ‘miscellaneous works.’
The first of these is his connection with the Great Exhibition of 1851. He was from the beginning one of the most zealous supporters of this undertaking, and was appointed a member of the Committee of the Section of Machinery, whose duty it was to classify the objects to be exhibited in that department.
Upon the question of awarding prizes to exhibitors, Mr. Brunel held a very decided opinion adverse to the plan ultimately adopted. In a letter to the Chairman of the Committee, dated March 11, 1850, he writes:—