Leader: Go Forth and end an aphorism
At least that is what Network Rail – which put some £130 million, 4.5 million man hours, and enough paint to cover 240,000 square metres into the restoration – assure us is the case. Given the effort and the cost which has gone into this, and the claims that previous paint jobs would last for years but did not, we hope this is so. It would be embarrassing if the much-vaunted glass-flake epoxy paint were to start flaking off any time soon as if it were badly applied emulsion.
In the meantime, we can at last admire the bridge’s magnificent cantilever construction re-coated in its original red oxide colour in all its glory, now free of scaffolding which disfigured it for ten years and marvel that, with only the odd re-paint and careful maintenance, it has stood the test of time.
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Hide AdThe word “iconic” is much overused and therefore devalued, but it can be accurately applied to this triumph of Victorian engineering which gave us a phrase which is, we hope, now consigned to history.