this is a full-on documentary film about the re-building of the Grosvenor railway bridge spanning the river Thames, London bringing 10 main lines into Victoria station one of the capitols busiest. As such it was important to keep the route open during the renewal. originally built in the mid 1800's it was obviously not designed for the amount of heavy traffic it was now getting - a true testament to the original builders skills and workmanship. All this is accompanied by music which would sit well in any porno film! that aside, the sight of men digging out in the coffer-dam without gloves or hats and only the ubiquitous donkey jacket and Wellington boots show how hardy these men were. The amount of sheer physical work shown here speaks for itself.

it's worth remembering all the design calculations were made with a trusty pencil and slide-rule. this is amply demonstrated by the talk given near the beginning by one of the partners who gave a dry but excellent account of the work with a presentation of how it was to proceed and it's well noticeable it's pre computer age but it's very informative and works well none-the-less.
warning; it's a long film, 30+mins and is more for the cognoscenti and admirers of the genre, click wisely now...


credit, A John Byrd Production