Forth Bridge
General Information
Other name(s): | Firth of Forth Bridge; Forth Rail Bridge |
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Beginning of works: | 1882 |
Completion: | 4 March 1890 |
Status: | in use |
Project Type
Structure: |
Cantilever truss bridge |
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Function / usage: |
Railroad (railway) bridge |
Material: |
Steel bridge Structurae Plus |
Awards and Distinctions
2015 |
for registered users |
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1985 |
for registered users |
1973 |
for registered users |
Location
Location: |
Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
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Crosses: |
|
Next to: |
Forth Road Bridge (1964)
|
Coordinates: | 55° 59' 19.11" N 3° 22' 58.51" W |
Coordinates: | 56° 0' 29.03" N 3° 23' 31.92" W |
Technical Information
Dimensions
height | 100.6 m | |
total length | 2 523 m | |
main spans | 2 x 521 m |
Quantities
structural steel | 58 000 t |
Materials
piers |
masonry
|
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truss |
steel
|
Chronology
4 March 1890 | Official opening by the Prince of Wales in the presence of Benjamin Baker and Gustave Eiffel. |
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1935 | The movie "The Thirty-Nine Steps" by Alfred Hitchcock includes a typical suspense sequence on the Forth bridge. |
Notes
The bridge appears in the movie "The Thirty-Nine Steps" of 1935, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The suspense sequence shows some details of the bridge.
Fifty-seven men died building the bridge, while eight others were saved by safety boats under the structure.
Participants
Initial construction
Design
- Benjamin Baker (designer)
- Sir John Fowler (designer)
Contractor
-
Sir William Arrol & Co.
- Sir William Arrol (builder)
Site supervision
Lighting installation
Lighting
Relevant Web Sites
-
A Span for All Seasons: Forth Rail Bridge (1)
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archINFORM: Firth of Forth Bridge
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BBC News: Fresh coat for historic bridge (7.3.2002)
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BBC News: Human toll of an iconic crossing (24.07.2005)
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Bernd Nebel: Brücken: Brücken in Europa: Eisenbahnbrücke über den Firth of Forth
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Karl Gotsch: Brücken in Großbritannien
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PBS: Building Big - Firth of Forth Bridge
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Planète TP: Le pont d'Édimbourg
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René Pönitz: Die Fahrt nach Queensferry
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The European Railway Picture Gallery: Bridges
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Wikipedia: Forth Bridge
Relevant Publications
- 100 years of the Forth Bridge. In: Engineering Structures, v. 13, n. 3 (July 1991), pp. 305. (1991):
- L'architecture et les ingénieurs. Deux siècles de réalisations. Moniteur, Paris (France), pp. 107. (1997):
- L'art de l'ingénieur. constructeur, entrepeneur, inventeur. Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France), pp. 190-192. (1997):
- Battle for the North. The Tay and Forth Bridges and the 19th Century Railway Wars. Granta Books, London (United Kingdom). (2006):
- Bridge Across the Century. The Story of the Forth Bridge. Moubray House, Edinburgh (United Kingdom). (1990):
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20000024 - Published on:
28/10/1998 - Last updated on:
16/02/2020