Our last day in Queensferry, Scotland, and the Forth Railway Bridge has been a visual and mindful pursuit, its size and design demanding our attention. There is a special sound from the frequent run of trains that seems to communicate strength as they travel over the wide and deep Forth Estuary.
An engineering sensation, yes, but it was the craftsmen’s fabrication skills and determination that brought this massive steel structure to life, with over six million driven rivets.
Fabrication as well as erection of the Forth Railway Bridge was on site at Queensferry. Riveted plate tubes made up most of the structural members and were riveted both with hydraulic riveters and by hand with hammers.
Set up on Queensferry south side were large gas furnaces for heating plates that were afterwards bent to the curve of a wood template. These curved plates were attached to a drilling machine for drilling rivet holes and adjusted to the required diameter, some as deep as twelve feet. Once the rivet holes were checked for accuracy, the plates were dismantled and shipped out to the erection site to be riveted in place.
First Day In Scotland
