|

Forth Rail Bridge
The Forth Bridge was built between 1883 and 1890 to designs by engineers Sir John Fowler (1817-98) and Sir Benjamin Baker (1840-1907) with Sir William Arrol (1839-1913) and Joseph Phillips as contractors. This massive steel railway viaduct features three double cantilevers connected by girders with a total span of 2.5 km.
The engineer Thomas Bouch lost the contract for the Forth Bridge after his Tay Bridge collapsed with great loss of life in 1879. Early passengers were so nervous about the safety of rail travel over water that they would throw coins from carriages into the water as offerings to ensure a safe passage.
On 4th March 1890, The Prince of Wales officially opened the bridge by driving in the last rivet, specially gilded and inscribed for the occasion, using an ornamental key. Rumours of a single, 'solid gold' rivet somewhere on the bridge amongst the 6.5 million others, led to the removal of the original to deter treasure hunters. This photograph shows the bridge under construction in c. 1888. |