William Morris, the 19th century Arts and Crafts designer, called the ForthRailwayBridge “the supremest specimen of all ugliness”
The ForthRailwayBridge was the ultimate civil engineering project of the 19th century.
It was the first major structure in the world to be built from steel - 55,000 tonnes of the stuff, held together by 6.5 million rivets.
The idea behind its design - a balanced cantilever - was well known, but nothing of this size had ever been attempted. It’s built on massive metal cylinders, known as caissons, sunk deep into the river bed and filled with over 18,000 cubic metres of granite. Its gigantic girders are 521m wide.
Thousands of men helped build it, and over 60 died during its construction, by falling, drowning or being crushed to death.
It was designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Allan Stewart, and built by Sir William Arrol in just seven years. It opened in 1890 at a cost of a thenmassive £2.5 million.
