Editing Wrought iron (section)

===Decline===
[[Steel]] began to replace iron for railroad rails as soon as the [[Bessemer process]] for its manufacture was adopted (1865 on). Iron remained dominant for structural applications until the 1880s, because of problems with brittle steel, caused by introduced nitrogen, high carbon, excess phosphorus, or excessive temperature during or too-rapid rolling.<ref name="Misa1995" />{{rp|144–151}}{{refn|group=note|From Misa, T.J. (1995):<ref name="Misa1995" />''"Quality problems with rails gave Bessemer steel such a bad reputation that engineers and architects refused to specify it for structural applications. Open hearth steel had a better reputation and displaced structural iron by 1889..."''}} By 1890 steel had largely replaced iron for structural applications.

Sheet iron (Armco 99.97% pure iron) had good properties for use in appliances, being well-suited for enamelling and welding, and being rust-resistant.<ref name="Misa1995"/>{{rp|242}}

In the 1960s, the price of steel production was dropping due to recycling, and even using the Aston process, wrought iron production was labor-intensive. It has been estimated that the production of wrought iron is approximately twice as expensive as that of low-carbon steel.<ref name="Daniel1993" /> In the United States, the last plant closed in 1969.<ref name="Daniel1993" /> The last in the world was the Atlas Forge of [[Thomas Walmsley and Sons]] in [[Bolton]], Great Britain, which closed in 1973. Its 1860s-era equipment was moved to the [[Blists Hill Victorian Town|Blists Hill site]] of [[Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust|Ironbridge Gorge Museum]] for preservation.<ref>{{cite periodical |first1=Stuart B |last1=Smith |first2=W.K.V. |last2=Gale |title=Wrought iron again: the Blists Hill Ironworks officially opened |periodical=Historical Metallurgy |edition=21st |issue=1 |year=1987 |pages=44–45}}</ref> Some wrought iron is still being produced for heritage restoration purposes, but only by recycling scrap.