The Forth Rail Bridge was constructed between 1883 and 1890 and was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. The contract for the construction of the bridge was awarded to Tancred, Arrol & Co by the Forth Bridge Company. It took seven years to build and at the height of the works, 4600 men were employed. Construction began only a few years after the Tay Rail Bridge disaster in which over 70 people were killed. In order to allay the fears of the public in the wake of this catastrophe the structure of this cantilever bridge was designed to be both visually impressive and enormously strong. The bridge stretches 1.5 miles across the Firth of Forth between South and North Queensferry and its three towers are over 100m high. The bridge was opened on the 4th of March 1890 by the then Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.
This image is from a travel volume entitled, Dear Auld Reekie produced by The Homeland Association and printed in 1925.
The image library for the collections of Edinburgh Libraries and Museums and Galleries The image library for the collections of Edinburgh Libraries and Museums and Galleries