Forth Bridge

Forth Bridge
Forth_Bridge_2022.jpg
Forth Bridge in July 2022
Coordinates56°00′01″N 3°23′19″W / 56.0004°N 3.3886°W / 56.0004; -3.3886
CarriesRail traffic
CrossesFirth of Forth
LocaleEdinburgh, Inchgarvie and Fife, Scotland
OwnerNetwork Rail
Maintained byBalfour Beatty under contract to Network Rail
Characteristics
DesignCantilever bridge
Total length8,094 feet (2,467 m)[1]
Width120 ft (37 m) at piers[1]
32 ft (9.8 m) at centre[1]
Height361 ft (110 m) above high water[1]
Longest spanTwo of 1,700 feet (520 m)[1]
Clearance below150 ft (46 m) to high water[1]
History
DesignerSir John Fowler and
Sir Benjamin Baker
Construction start1882
Construction endDecember 1889
Opened4 March 1890
Statistics
Daily traffic190–200 trains per day
Official nameThe Forth Bridge
TypeCultural
Criteriai, iv
Designated5 July 2015
Reference no.1485
Listed Building – Category A
Official nameForth Bridge
Designated18 June 1973
Reference no.LB40370
Location
Map

The Forth Bridge[2] is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles (14 kilometres) west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in 2016), and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3] It was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker.[4] It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge (to distinguish it from the adjacent Forth Road Bridge), although this is not its official name.

Construction of the bridge began in 1882 and it was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Duke of Rothesay, the future Edward VII. The bridge carries the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line across the Forth between the villages of South Queensferry and North Queensferry and has a total length of 8,094 feet (2,467 m). When it opened it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world, until 1919 when the Quebec Bridge in Canada was completed. It continues to be the world's second-longest single cantilever span, with a span of 1,709 feet (521 m).

The bridge and its associated railway infrastructure are owned by Network Rail.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Forth Bridge". NetworkRail. Network Rail. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ^ "The Forth Bridge". forth-bridges.co.uk. Forth Bridges Forum. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017. Opened in 1890, The Forth Bridge is recognised the world over as the most famous of cantilever designs.
  3. ^ "The Forth Bridge". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ^ "The bridge builders | The Forth Bridges". www.theforthbridges.org. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. ^ "The history of the Forth Bridge, Fife". Network Rail. Retrieved 26 May 2020.