Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash under construction in spring 1858.

The construction of the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash, Devon. The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdon Brunel for the Cornwall Railway. It took the line acros the River Tamar between St Budeaux in Devon and Saltash in Cornwall. The photograph, taken from the eventual site of Saltash station, shows the Cornish span in place, 100 feet above the river. The Devon span is on the eastern bank of the Tamar, ready to be jacked into position using hydraulic cylinders. The bridge opened on 4 may 1859, four months before Brunel's death.