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![]() a little history lesson: the iron ring cyrus sy, vp external
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You've seen it, you've heard about it...so what's the story
behind the Iron Ring? In 1900, construction began on the the
Quebec Bridge, a bridge which linked Winnipeg to Moncton on
the National Trans-Continental Railway. As construction neared
completion, it collapsed under the weight of a locomotive
loaded with steel. Seventy-five people were killed and a
subsequent inquiry showed the accident was due to an error in
judgement by the engineers who designed the bridge. Tragedy
struck again during the second attempt to build the bridge in
1916. The centre span collapsed while being hoisted into place,
killing 10 more people. The bridge was finally completed in
1917. Contrary to popular belief the first rings were not made
from iron from the collapsed bridge. But the collapse of the
bridge led to the tradition of the Iron Ring to symbolize the
humility and fallibility of engineers.
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