Cast iron is a metal in a number of Scotland’s historic bridges, and Sir William Arrol & Co produced the iron arches for many of these cast iron bridges. Sir William Arrol, a blacksmith, fitter, and boilermaker, was described in Engineering, February 28, 1890: “To do everything he undertook well, to forsake the grooves prescribed by established handicraft, for new and bolder ways, and never to avoid a menial task that might accompany the undertaking in hand, was characteristic of Mr. Arrol.” I recognize this trait in the many crafts men and women I have worked with and write about, and I will continue writing their industrial stories. “[F]orsake the grooves prescribed by established handicraft.” I love these few words, not breaking rules, but not traveling down the same path every day. Finding paths that lead to “new and bolder ways.”
These cast iron bridges are a craftsmen’s record. In iron, they span rivers, creeks, and valleys, and there is a quiet grace in the heavy cast iron, bold and safe to cross.
