Noticing that wooden bridges had a life-span of only about 10 years, he began looking at using iron for his bridges. At that time railroads made limited use of iron bridges. After a failure of an iron bridge on the New York and Erie in 1849, that railroad stopped using them.
He noticed wooden bridges had a lifespan of only about 10 years, so he began looking at using iron for his bridges. At the time, railroads were not very reliant on iron bridges. After an iron bridge failure on the New York and Erie in 1849, that railroad stopped using them.