The Severn Bridge Railway was more than once linked with that of its contemporary, the first Tay bridge: but whereas the Tay failed structially and quickly, the subject of this book failed commercially and protractedly. The Severn Bridge lasted for eighty years until 1960 when two drifting barges administered the fatal blow. Ron Huxley creates a detailed account of the construction, use and passing of one of the greatest bridges of its day, documented by illustrations throughout the book. The Severn Bridge was built as a railway bridge to create a shorter through route to avoid having to go through Gloucester. This book was originally published in 1984 and has long been out of print.