TOPIC:

Coming back to the Colenso Railway Bridge:

The 2nd Volunteer Service Company attached to the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment disembarked at Durban on 12th April 1901 and entrained for Harrismith. Amongst their number was 21 year old Private 6794 Joseph Baldock who kept a diary. The diary survived and is reproduced in Jeffrey Elson’s privately published work on the contribution the South Staffordshire Regiment made to the Second Boer War of 1899-1902.

Quoting Joseph verbatim for Saturday 13th April 1901:

“Passed through a good many places of interest where General Buller had the tremendous hard task. Went over the Tugela by the Colenso Bridge. The bridge was made by Axletree Co, Wednesbury. The old bridge blown up by the Boers lay by the side of the line and is bent in all shapes. Passed Lieut Roberts grave and a good many graves of fallen soldiers and battlefields. We also saw some Kaffir kraals. Have breakfast at Ladysmith at 8.55. Pass through Van Reenan Pass & arrive at Harrismith.”

Moving 15 months back in time to the second half of January 1900 the British newspapers are full of a syndicated article – this one from the Hampshire Post & Southsea Observer of 19th January 1900 under the headline “NEW BRIDGE FOR THE TUGELA.”:

“The official inspection of the bridge which has been built by the Patent Shaft and Axletree Company, Wednesbury, for erection across the Tugela, took place on Monday. As soon as the Boers destroyed the bridge, the Company was communicated with and they undertook to have a bridge constructed in six weeks. It was to be of Siemans-Martin steel, 105ft long, 16ft 6in wide, and weighing 750 tons. The order was received on 21st December and, owing to the ready co-operation of the workmen, the bridge has been finished in about three weeks, or in half the time allotted. The firm look upon this as a world’s record in bridge building. All the parts are numbered so that they may be readily fitted together. According to present arrangements, the first portion will be shipped on Saturday.”

The Engineer of 19th January 1900 carried the following photograph:


The photograph is titled “SPAN OF THE NEW BRIDGE OVER THE TUGELA RIVER” and underneath in smaller type “THE PATENT SHAFT AND AXLETREE COMPANY, LIMITED, WEDNESBURY, ENGINEERS”. You can make out that each piece is numbered to facilitate its reconstruction in South Africa where it was to arrive as a flat pack.

From the Australian War Memorial website:





Now it is possible that these new metal spans were placed on top of the trestle bridge but as they weighed 750 tons each I think I would have taken the option of swimming across the Tugela.

I rest my case.

Postscript: Joseph, the diarist, was born in Rugby and was living in Walsall when he volunteered for service in South Africa. However, 9 of his comrades were Wednesbury born and raised.

And for anybody who might be interested in where Wednesbury is, or Smethwick for that matter:



The centre of Birmingham, once home to Joseph Chamberlain, is roughly where the “Y” of “Jewellery Quarter” is.

Another discovery - obviously where the Australian War Memorial website got their photo from - note the 1901 date in the small writing - recently sold on a certain online auction website.



What I would really like is a shot from a distance showing what the spans are standing on and its relationship to the remains of the blown up bridge.

David,

Thank you for posting the map, I am probably the only person on the forum who didn't need directions to Wednesbury and Smethwick!lol!

I have often heard old boys talk about "The Patent Shaft' and the Carriage Works.That was back when the area was renowned for it's heavy engineering excellence. All just a part of history now, along with Chance's Glassworks.

Steve - you may be surprised to learn that a second Smethwickian contributes to this forum. He is brighter than me and jumped a year at Grammar School so for two years in the sixth form we sat in the same classroom listening to "Dixie" Dale trying to teach us Chemistry and "Frank" Dickens trying to teach us Physics. Frank left me baffled but I managed to keep up with Dixie and became a Chartered Chemist.

Regarding the loss of heavy engineering excellence. I left Smethwick in 1973 but in 1988, following my father's funeral in Wolverhampton and a weekend keeping my mother company, I caught the train from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street to get back to home in South Oxfordshire. As you might imagine I was a bit emotional when I got on the train, I left it in tears. All I had seen between Wolverhampton and Birmingham was decay, destruction and desolation.

Regards, David.

David,

I think this answers your question. Although this photograph shows Frere Bridge, the span is clearly one of those made by the Patent Shaft & Axletree Company. It is being placed on the existing stone piers. I imagine the same was done at Colenso [Ed. yes, it was - see: Colenso Railway Bridge] .

Image from "The Battlefields of Natal Re-visited" (p. 10).





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Neville - definitely the work of the Patent Shaft & Axletree Company.

Have just realised there was more variation in the January 1900 newspaper articles than I realised and some also mentioned the Frere Bridge - example below from the Morning Leader of 16 January 1900:

NEW BRIDGES FOR S. AFRICA.
At the Old Park Works, Wednesbury, Staffs, of the Patent Shaft and Axletree Company yesterday the Government inspection took place of the first span of the two steel railway bridges to be erected in place of those blown up by the Boers at Colenso and Frere.
The company have given an undertaking to have the bridges, which are 735ft. long, and weigh upwards of 700 tons, completed in three months from Christmas.
The managers and workmen were complimented upon the unprecedented success of their efforts, and the first span will be dispatched to Durban this week.