The inspection was conducted 25–27 February 1878 by which time ballast trains had been running over the bridge for 2 months – evidence of Major General Hutchinson Minutes of Evidence p 376 by Major General Hutchinson of the Railway Inspectorate, who measured the deflection of the 245 feet bridge girders under a distributed load of 1.5 tons per foot (5 t/m) due to heavy locomotives, travelling at up to 40 mph (65 km/h), as less than 2 inches (50 mm).