sajandi lõpuni olid Euroopas põhilised ehitusmaterjalid looduslik kivi, tellis ja puit. Rauda kasutati vaid sepistatud kinnitusdetailidena. Erandjuhtudel kasutati rauda ka kettidena. Esimest korda kasutati rauda silla konstrueerimiseks 1781. aastal üle Severni jõe ehitatud sillal Coalbrookdale'is Inglismaal. Sellise tehnoloogia kasutuselevõtu, mis võimaldas rauast sildu ehitada, idee pärineb kahelt rauameistrilt Abraham Darby'lt ja John Wilkinsonilt ning kohalikult arhitektilt Thomas Farnolls Pritchardilt. Selle esimese metallsilla sille on 30,5 meetrit ja kõrgus 12,8 meetrit. Silla kaarte üldmass on 378 tonni. Hetkel on sild kasutusel
Figure 7 Dunlaps Creek Bridge (1839), Brownsville, Pennsylvania (USA), spans 80ft (24m) on five elliptical ribs of cast iron made of nine 14ft (4m) segments flanged at the ends and bolted. The triangular bracing in the spandrels is reminiscent of Telford's iron bridges in Shropshire (UK), and the tubes resemble the eliptical arches of the Pont du Carrousel, built over the Seine in Paris in 1834. Library of Congress The first successful all-iron bridge in the world was designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, an architect who suggested using the material as early as 1773. Built by two ironmasters, Abraham Darby and John Wilkinson, to demonstrate the versatility of cast iron, the bridge spans 100ft (30m) over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale (UK), on five semi-circular ribs of cast iron. The Iron Bridge was followed by a succession of cast-iron arches built throughout Europe. Few cast-iron arch bridges were built in the USA as the iron truss, derived from wooden forms, was preferred
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