railways, and gave advice to the planned lines of the Royal Württemberg State Railways (now part of the German railways) (1843). His fortunes improved with the Railway Mania of 1844–46. He was the engineer for the Dalkey Atmospheric Railway which opened in 1843. In 1846 he was employed to construct the Nicholas Chain Bridge in Kiev over the Dnieper River (then: Russian Empire, today: Ukraine). The work extended from 1847 to 1853. The bridge had four main spans, overall half a mile long, at that time the largest of its kind in Europe. From 1847 until 1853 when the bridge was completed, he lived in Ukraine, returning frequently to England. His first wife Mary had died in 1834. In 1849 he married Margaret Hodge at St Martin-in-the-Fields. 1850s After his stay in Ukraine, Vignoles became involved in some English projects, such as the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (1855–64). Most of his work was abroad, with such lines as the Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, and Cologne Railway and the Western Railway in Switzerland. Other work included that for the Wiesbadener Eisenbahngesellschaft in the Duchy of Nassau 1853–1856, building the Nassauische Rheintalbahn from Wiesbaden to Oberlahnstein. Between 1857 and 1864, he was engineer for the Tudela & Bilbao Railway in Spain. Finally, in 1860 the Bahia and San Francisco Railway in Brazil. Later life Vignoles retired in 1863, moving to Hythe, near Southampton in 1867. Returning from a visit to London, he suffered a stroke and died on 17 November 1875. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery, London, on 23 November. The grave is a flat stone slab, level with the ground, 1m x 2.5m, and lies on the east side of the main path towards the colonnade, in the tree-less area. Vignoles rail In 1836 he suggested the use, on the London and Croydon Railway, of a flat-bottomed rail, first invented by the American R.L.Stevens in 1830 (but rolled in British steel works). His name has become associated with it as Vignoles rail. It became popular on the continent, becoming known as Vignoles rail, but was not used widely in the Britain and Ireland until the 20th century. Legacy and honours He became a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1827, and its 15th President in 1869. Elected as a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on 9 January 1829. In 1841, he had become the first Professor of Civil