Forth Bridge

And then we go on to the Tavern stand.

And that will then, it's a bit like the Forth Bridge, we'll probably then sort of look at what happens next.

But those stands are currently not fit for purpose.

They're old stands.

Yeah, Old Course and Andrews, Ravenscraig, Castled and Firmland Abbey.

Fourth Rail Bridge, or just the Fourth Bridge, not the Road Bridge.

If I score road out, will you take it? No.

And you're so close with Anstruther Harbour.

I care not for the small change.

And when trains were crossing the great Victorian edifice of the Forth Bridge across the River Forth, Scotland's Eiffel Tower if you like, Likewise, men, women, maybe under the influence of a few shandies, the tradition was to throw open the window of the train just as you began to cross the river and take from your pocket whatever change you had and throw it again with disregard, throw it into the waters of the river.

A kind of an echo of the old votive offerings that used to go on, swords and the rest getting thrown into the river.

are into the law.

[upbeat music] Welcome to the Proper British History Podcast.

Today, we unpack how the fatal fall of Scotland's first iron bridge forced engineers to rethink design, material, and safety, a change that paved the way for the steel-crowned Forth Bridge we still see today.

It was only after the night that the Tay Bridge fell that engineers, who would soon lay out the plans of what is today the Forth Bridge, were forced to confront how a failure in design and material choice could unleash disaster far beyond a single span.

That night taught them that wind forces had been underestimated.

The original Tay Bridge was built with lattice girders that simply couldn't withstand a gusting storm.

keep out floodwater, all while maintaining safety for workers climbing cranes above the water's edge.

Despite these challenges, by eighteen eighty-seven, most of the cantilever arms and the central tower were in place, and the bridge's skeleton stood like a silver spine across the Forth.

Safety incidents during construction highlighted why the Forth Bridge became more than an engineering feat.

[upbeat music] Welcome to the Proper British History Podcast.

Today, we unravel how the fatal Tay Bridge collapse reshaped Britain's engineering standards and birthed the iconic Forth Bridge.

The Tay Bridge disaster of December eighteen seventy-nine was a nighttime calamity that killed every passenger aboard a north-south train, sending shockwaves across Britain.

It exposed serious flaws in engineering practice and sparked a national debate over railway safety.

The inquiry was not just about mathematics.

It also castigated inadequate supervision and low standards in casting iron components.

Enter Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, the duo charged with designing the new Forth Bridge.

They made their first design choice, cantilever steel rather than the lighter lattice of Tay, almost as a deliberate rejection of Bouch's philosophy.

Following serious fires, the swimming baths were rebuilt in 1890, and the chemistry laboratory was rebuilt seven years later.

Fourth Bridge, opening 134 years ago, where three passed away in a fire.

Advocates Library, opening in 1689, so we are told, 335 years ago, predating the power tool by 206 years, where Thomas Hill Jamieson had to deal with a fire that damaged thousands of books in 1875.

With all of these mysterious fires coincidentally coming right around the exact same time, which is very interesting in itself if you ask me.