Upon the ruins of the old, Dumbarton Old Bridge Traditional Cache
Upon the ruins of the old, Dumbarton Old Bridge
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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The Old Bridge, Dumbarton
In 1682 at the Convention of Burghs, a proposal was made to bridge the River Leven partly at the instigation of the Duke of Argyll who regularly travelled the route. It was not, however until 1765 that the construction of a five-arched bridge was completed by the local mason John Brown but even with footings 17 feet deep one bridge pier failed and two arches collapsed. The engineer John Smeaton reported on the sunken pier advising Brown on how to make good the damage by building ‘Upon the ruins of the old’ and to keep the structure light by means of three longitudinal cavities, similar to the practice he adopted at Perth Bridge. The bridge was completed and opened in 1768. This measure is thought by the present maintainers to have been implemented and the pier is still in service. The bridge was widened in 1884 with 8ft 6ins wide cantilevered footpaths carried on steel beams. In 1933 this steelwork was found to be badly corroded and was replaced with reinforced concrete during a complete refurbishment of the bridge in 1934. In 2001 the bridge failed a structural assessment, but was again successfully refurbished and reopened in 2005. The bridge is a category ‘B’ listed building but in its original condition would have been category ‘A’ The cache itself is a magnetic nano (as the 35mm film canisters kept disapearing) with only a logbook, please bring your own writing implement. The riverside path can be busy with dog walkers when the weather is pleasant. Parking is available close to the cache making this an obvious cache and dash. 😀😀😀Congratulations to melee.meles for the FTF.😀😀😀
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Hcba gur ehvaf bs gur byq
Treasures
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