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Forth Bridge
General Information
| Other name(s): | Firth of Forth Bridge; Forth Rail Bridge |
|---|---|
| Beginning of works: | 1882 |
| Completion: | 4 March 1890 |
| Status: | in use |
Project Type
| Structure: |
Cantilever truss bridge |
|---|---|
| Function / usage: |
Railroad (railway) bridge |
| Material: |
Steel bridge |
Awards and Distinctions
| 2015 |
 |
|---|---|
| 1985 |
|
| 1973 |
|
Location
| Location: |
Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| 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
| truss |
steel
|
|---|
Chronology
| 4 March 1890 | Official opening by the Prince of Wales in the presence of Benjamin Baker and Gustave Eiffel. |
|---|---|
| 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.
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Participants
Initial construction
Design
- Sir John Fowler (designer)
- Benjamin Baker (designer)
Contractor
-
Sir William Arrol & Co.
- Sir William Arrol (builder)
Site supervision
- Allan Duncan Stewart (resident engineer)
Lighting installation
Lighting
Relevant Web Sites
-
A Span for All Seasons: Forth Rail Bridge (1)
-
archINFORM: Firth of Forth Bridge
-
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
-
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
-
The European Railway Picture Gallery: Bridges
Relevant Publications
- (1991): 100 years of the Forth Bridge. In: Engineering Structures, v. 13, n. 3 (July 1991), pp. 305.
- (1997): 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.
- (2006): Battle for the North. The Tay and Forth Bridges and the 19th Century Railway Wars. Granta Books, London (United Kingdom).
- (1990): Bridge Across the Century. The Story of the Forth Bridge. Moubray House, Edinburgh (United Kingdom).
- About this
data sheet - Structure-ID
20000024 - Published on:
28/10/1998 - Last updated on:
16/02/2020