Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, 1883-1890; Louis Nelville, engineer for Tancred, Arrol and Co and Joseph Philips, contractors. Mild steel and masonry railway viaduct. Masonry abutments of square snecked rubble with band course above eliptical arches (23 metre span) at either end; 4 spans of mild steel box girders formed with raking vertical struts and light lattice steel parapet above (each steel span 30 metres long) resting on 4 masonry piers of squared and snecked bullfaced rubble set at 25 degree angles to the centre line; whole of viaduct on curve with gradient of 1 in 70.

Statement of Special Interest

A-group with 'Forth Bridge' and 'Hope Street, Forth Bridge Approach Railway, Truss Bridge' (see separate listings).

This viaduct was erected by the Forth Bridge Railway Company as a component of the North Approach Railway, built in association with the Forth Bridge (see separate listing). The North Approach Railway is just over 3 kilometres in length commencing from the abutment at the north end of the Forth Bridge and terminating at Inverkeithing at the former junction with the North British Railway. Like the Forth Bridge itself, this viaduct demonstrates an early large-scale use of open-hearth steel.

Upon completion the Forth Bridge was the world's longest railway bridge built on the cantilever principle. It took a five thousand strong workforce seven years to build using more than sixty thousand tonnes of Siemiens-Martin open-hearth steel. It is Scotland's most instantly recognisable industrial landmark and has become a symbol of national identity.

A bridge crossing the Firth of Forth was first proposed in 1818 by Edinburgh civil engineer, James Anderson. Some engineers believed a tunnel would be a better solution and it was not until 1873 that the Forth Bridge Company was founded. The first contract was given to Thomas Bouch who designed a bridge modelled on his design for the Tay Bridge. However, after the Tay Bridge disaster of 28th December 1879, when high winds blew down the high central girders, the company felt it would be wiser to employ a completely new design. John Fowler (knighted 1885) and his colleague Benjamin Baker (knighted 1890) received the new commission. Fowler's background in railway engineering was distinguished having previously designed the first railway bridge across the Thames in 1860, St Enoch's station in Glasgow, and he was a principal engineer of the London Underground system. Fowler and Baker's innovative cantilever design, which allowed spans nearly four times larger than any railway bridge previously built, was authorised by a new Act of Parliament in 1883. The bridge was completed seven years later, on 4th March 1890. It has been in continuous use since then and around 200 trains currently cross the bridge daily.

Listed at resurvey, 2003/4; list description updated, 2013.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.