West of Menai Bridge is Robert Stephenson`s railway bridge built in the mid 19th Century when railways arrived in north Wales. The Britannia Bridge was part of the railway line linking Chester with Holyhead, the Irish Mail terminus. The bridge consisted of rectangular tubes through which the trains travelled. Built on the shore, the sections were placed on rafts and raised into position by hydraulic lifts. The bridge was opened in 1850. In 1970 a fire destroyed the tubes. They were replaced with an open track and a second deck carrying a roadway.