Collection of tools used by Forth Bridge carpenter

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

54037

Title

Collection of tools used by carpenter working on the Forth Rail Bridge

Description

A collection wooden and iron woodworking tools used by carpenter Alexander Wilson while working on the construction of the Forth Rail Bridge in the 1880s. Various tools including moulding planes, squares, mitre bevel and a saw.

Date

1885

Type

Metal; Wood

Location

Queensferry Museum

Accession number

SH.2023.319-333

Construction began on the Forth Rail Bridge in 1882, and it was officially opened on the 4th March 1890. Although the bridge is largely made of iron, many components are wooden, and so the construction site included a number of carpenters. The bridge still has wooden handrails which needed to be precisely carved to fit, and many of the fittings of the stations along the line are wooden. The enormous structure of the bridge was held together by wooden scaffolding, so the carpenters played a key role in the building of the bridge.

Carpenters were not safe from the dangers of working on such a hazardous construction site. Thanks to the Forth Bridge Accident book, we know of at least 7 carpenters injured in the first 4 years of construction, of which one, Alexander Ferguson, died.

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