In spite of their apparent rivalry, Brunel and Stephenson were great personal friends, to the extent that they supported each other professionally. When Stephenson was under pressure during the enquiry following the collapse of his cast-iron girder bridge over the River Dee killing several people, Brunel did not desert him. In spite of his extreme distrust of the use of cast-iron girders for such purposes, Brunel refused to condemn them when cross-examined as an expert witness. He was also present to provide Stephenson moral support, when the great Britannia box-girders were floated across the river prior to being jacked up to their final positions. So when it came to the revolutionary design at Chepstow, "The Times" of 24 February 1852, reported that “Mr Stephenson, the eminent engineer, has examined the (great railway) bridge (at Chepstow) and concurred in the plan adopted by Mr Brunel...”.