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Structures / Forth Rail Bridge
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Forth Rail Bridge

Firth of Forth Rail Bridge; Forth Railway Bridge; Firth of Forth Bridge
Built: 1882 - 1890
Status: in use
Location: Near Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Crosses: Firth of Forth
Forth Rail Bridge
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There is a total of 40 images.
Structural Type:
Cantilever truss bridge
Function / usage:
Railroad (railway) bridge
Next to: Forth Road Bridge (1964)

Persons involved with this structure
Legend: Phase of works
RoleNamePart of structure 
Builder Sir William Arrol
Designer Sir Benjamin Baker
  Sir John Fowler
Resident engineer Allan Duncan Stewart

Firms, offices, etc. involved with this structure
Legend: Phase of works
RoleNamePart of structure 
Contractor Sir William Arrol & Co.
Lighting BEGA Gantenbrink-Leuchten KG

Technical information
DescriptionValue
Construction materials used
truss  steel
Dimensions
  total length 2.5 km
  tower height 100.6 m
  main spans 2 x 521 m
Quantities used in construction
  structural steel 58 000 t

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 & Comments
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.

Relevant Web Sites
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External LinkA Span for All Seasons: Forth Rail Bridge (1) English
External LinkarchINFORM: Firth of Forth Bridge English German French Spanish Italian
External LinkBBC News: Fresh coat for historic bridge (7.3.2002) English
External LinkBBC News: Human toll of an iconic crossing (24.07.2005) English
External LinkBernd Nebel: Brücken: Brücken in Europa: Eisenbahnbrücke über den Firth of Forth German
External LinkBridge Pros: Firth of Forth Bridge English
External LinkForth Bridges Visitor Centre Trust English
External LinkKarl Gotsch: Brücken in Großbritannien German
External LinkPBS: Building Big - Firth of Forth Bridge English
External LinkPlanète TP: Le pont d'Édimbourg French
External LinkRené Pönitz: Die Fahrt nach Queensferry German
External LinkThe European Railway Picture Gallery: Bridges English

Relevant Literature
* Baker, Benjamin   Bridging the Firth of Forth (I), in "Engineering", 29 July 1887 .
* Baker, Benjamin   Bridging the Firth of Forth (II), in "Engineering", 5 August 1887 .
* Baker, Benjamin   Bridging the Firth of Forth (III), in "Engineering", 12 August 1887 .
* Baker, Benjamin   Bridging the Firth of Forth (IV), in "Engineering", 19 August 1887 .
* Baker, Benjamin   Bridging the Firth of Forth (V), in "Engineering", 26 August 1887 .
* Beckett, Derrick   Great Buildings of the World: Bridges, Paul Hamlyn, New York (USA) , 1969; pp. 110-120.
* Billington, David P.   The Tower and the Bridge, Princeton University Press, Princeton (USA) , ISBN 069102393X, 1983; pp. 118-122.
* Bonatz, Paul   Brücken, Karl Robert Langewiesche Verlag, Königstein im Taunus (Germany) , 1956; pp. 91-92.
* Bottomley, Dave   A lifetime's work, in "Bridge Design & Engineering", 4th Quarter 2003, n. 33 v. 9 .
* Bottomley, David   Complex cover-up, in "Bridge Design & Engineering", 2nd Quarter 2007, n. 47 v. 13 .
* Brown, David J.   Bridges, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York (USA) , ISBN 002517455X, 1993; pp. 72-73.
* Deswarte, Sylvie   L'architecture et les ingénieurs, Moniteur, Paris (France) , ISBN 2281190994, 1997; pp. 107.
* Dupré, Judith   Bridges, Black Dog & Leventhal, New York (USA) , ISBN 1884822754, 1997; pp. 58-59.
* Dupré, Judith   Brücken, Könemann, Cologne (Germany) , ISBN 3829004095, 1998; pp. 58-59.
* Dupré, Judith   Les ponts, Könemann, Cologne (Germany) , ISBN 3829004109; pp. 58-59.
* Graf, Bernhard   Bridges that Changed the World, Prestel, Munich (Germany) , ISBN 3791327011, 2002; pp. 76-77.
* Graf, Bernhard   Brücken, die die Welt verbinden, Prestel, Munich (Germany) , ISBN 3791327003, 2002; pp. 76-77.
* Koerte, Arnold   Two Railway Bridges of an Era, Birkhäuser, Basel (Switzerland) , 1992.
* Kranakis, Eda   Fixing the Blame, in "Technology and Culture", July 2004, n. 3 v. 45 .
* Mackay, Sheila   Bridge Across the Century, Moubray House, Edinburgh (United Kingdom) , ISBN 0948473002, 1990.
* McKean, Charles   Battle for the North, Granta Books, London (United Kingdom) , ISBN 1862078521, 2006.
* Picon, Antoine   L'art de l'ingénieur, Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France) , ISBN 2858509115, 1997; pp. 190-192.
* Pottgießer, Hans   Eisenbahnbrücken aus zwei Jahrhunderten, Birkhäuser, Basel (Switzerland) , ISBN 3764316772, 1985; pp. 230-233.
* Prade, Marcel   Les grands ponts du monde: Ponts remarquables d'Europe, Brissaud, Poitiers (France) , ISBN 2902170653, 1990; pp. 269.
* Quaranta, Arnaud   Le Passage (1st edition), Everest Communication, Luxembourg (Luxembourg) , ISBN 287996976X, 1999; pp. 166-167.
* Whyte, Iain Boyd   John Fowler, Benjamin Baker Forth Bridge, Edition Axel Menges, Stuttgart (Germany) , ISBN 3930698188, 1997.
* Wittfoht, Hans   Buiding bridges, Beton-Verlag, Düsseldorf (Germany) , ISBN 3764001763, 1984.

 
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