Also known as: Forth Rail Bridge Built: 1883-1890 Cost: £2,500,000 Designed by: Benjamin Baker and John Fowler Type: Bridge Maximum Height: 340 feet / 104 meters Maximum length: 8,276 feet / 2,523 meters Location: Spanning the Firth of Forth between South Queensferry and North Queensferry., Edinburgh, United Kingdom
T his structure is a great undulating steel monster rising out of the estuary that is formed by the Forth river as it slowly spreads out toward the North Sea. "Monster" is an appropriate word, because this bridge has the looks of a beast, and the strength to back it up. It is considered one of the strongest, most stable, and most expensive bridges in history. That came out of necessity. The bridge was built after the span across the Firth of Tay collapsed, killing 75 people on a train in the middle of the night. Engineers and planners needed to cross the Forth, but had to do it in a way that would be acceptable to a public still shocked by what was then the worst bridge disaster in history. What they came up with wasn't merely another cantilever-truss bridge. What they put together was a marvel of Victorian engineering, and a span so overbuilt that it barely moves in even the heaviest wind, even though a certain amount of sway is expected in most large structures. This is achieved by using steel plate tubes with internal braces. The most stout of these building members are 12-feet in diameter. Its nearly exclusive use of steel, combined with its latticework appearance have made some people refer to it as the "Eiffel Tower of Scotland."
1883 - Construction begins on the bridge 4 March,
1890 - The then-Prince of Wales drives the last rivet into place. It was gold plated and is inscribed. He would later go on to become King Edward VII.
57 people lost their lives building the Forth of Firth bridge.
The bridge is held together by nearly 7,000,000 rivets.
The bridge is made from 54,000 tons of steel.
The bridge is made from 194,000 cubic yards of granite.
The bridge is made from 21,000 tons of cement.
The bridge rests on three piers, 70-feet in diameter.
Each of these piers descends up to 90 feet into the earth before resting on bedrock.
The bridge is designed to stand up to wind forces as high as 56 pounds per square foot.
James Anderson
Saturday, February 21st, 2009 @ 7:38am
Rating: Five stars. I have riden across the bridge 5 times. If I am lucky enough to get to my favorite overseas city, Edinburgh. I would love to visit it from the shore in North Queensferry and visit Inchgarvie if possible. In my opinion the two most impressive bridges in the world are the Great Forth Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge.
robert ledger
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 @ 10:20am
Rating: Five stars. I visited the bridge in 1970 and i'm still fascinated by the vast of it....excellent achievement
Avril Hylton
Sunday, January 1st, 2006 @ 12:57pm
Rating: Five stars. My brothers and I were born in a little cottage underneath the Forth Bridge on the North side. We think of this Bridge as the Best in the World. It is magic!!
india
Thursday, July 7th, 2005 @ 5:24am
Rating: Five stars. good bridge
Mal Walker
Sunday, March 13th, 2005 @ 1:51am
Rating: Five stars. To view this bridge in the mist with just the tops rising above in the sunshine is a dream.
Robert J. Allen
Jnaury 27th, 2003
Iwas searching for a town that does not appear in my Atlas -- Craigellachie, Arberlour and could not find it. Leave it to Google to find it in terms of a Hotel Craigellachie. While looking as scenes from that marvellous area in the Highlands, I decided to take a look (via Google) for Firth of Forth Bridge. As a Naval Officer, I served aboard a ship, USS Northampton and while in Firth of Forth, one of our motor launches went aground right at the Bridge. Itwas on Sept. 12, 1955. I happen to know that because I still have copy of The Scottish Daily Mail of the next day with documentation of our embarrassing incident. At any rate, I seem to remember that the Inn where I was waiting til the tides shifted enough to float it off was the same Inn where Robert Louis Stevenson started to pen his "Treasure Island." I loved my time in Scotland --Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and hope to return with my wife someday. Best to all with memories of Firth of Forth and its famous Bridge. Bob Allen
James magnuson
December 22nd, 2002
My great grandfather, George Fowler, died in 1892 from caissons disease. During his first two years work on the Forth Bridge, he worked under compressed air down in the caisoons. Remarkably, we have a photo of him down in a caisson. In Mackay's book, "The Forth Bridge" p. 53, there's our family's George holding onto the hydraulic jack. My grandfather said that his father, George, worked "until the last rivet was driven" but that when the bridge was dedicated his father was in such physical shape, he never wanted to see the bridge again. In our family, we call the bridge, "The George Fowler Memorial Bridge." It's a magnificent structure.
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
James Anderson
Five stars.
robert ledger
Mal Walker