Landmark Europe
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a long red railway bridge in Scotland. Trains cross the water on it, between three giant steel towers!
The Forth Bridge carries trains across the Firth of Forth, a wide sea inlet in eastern Scotland, linking Edinburgh and Fife. Built from 1883 to 1890 out of steel, it rests on three huge towers and is painted a red color called Forth Bridge Red. It has been a World Heritage Site since 2015.
The Forth Bridge, designed by John Fowler and Benjamin Baker and built in 1883–90, carries the railway across the Firth of Forth between South and North Queensferry. UNESCO calls it the world's earliest great multispan cantilever bridge: three double-cantilever towers on granite piers form two main spans of 521 m, the longest single spans in the world for 28 years. It opened on 4 March 1890 and was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2015.
Photo: George Gastin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is in Scotland. It crosses a wide stretch of sea water called the Firth of Forth.
It is a bridge for trains, and it is painted red.
The Forth Bridge crosses the Firth of Forth, the wide mouth of the River Forth in eastern Scotland. It carries the railway between South Queensferry, on the Edinburgh side, and North Queensferry, in Fife.
The bridge opened in 1890 and still carries trains today. The official Forth Bridges website says about 200 trains cross it every day, carrying 3 million passengers a year.
UNESCO describes the Forth Bridge as spanning the estuary of the River Forth in eastern Scotland to link Fife to Edinburgh by railway. Historic Environment Scotland's listing calls it a 2.5-kilometer painted steel cantilever railway bridge on a north–south line, using the promontories at North and South Queensferry and the small rock of Inchgarvie in the middle of the firth.
The bridge has stayed in use since 1890. UNESCO notes that its form and design are virtually unaltered and that it still works as originally intended, as an important passenger and freight rail bridge.
- Where
- across the Firth of Forth, linking Edinburgh and Fife, Scotland
- Built
- 1883–1890
- Engineers
- John Fowler and Benjamin Baker
- World Heritage
- inscribed 2015
Seven years of building
Building the bridge took seven years. Thousands of workers helped.
In 1890 a prince opened it by putting in one last golden rivet!
An earlier plan for a bridge here, by the engineer Thomas Bouch, was dropped in 1879. A new design by John Fowler and Benjamin Baker was approved in 1882, and building began in 1883.
The pier foundations were finished in 1886, the three towers in 1887 and the cantilever arms in 1889. On 4 March 1890 the bridge was opened by the Prince of Wales, who put in a final gold-plated rivet.
Historic Environment Scotland records that a crossing was first proposed in 1818 and that the Forth Bridge Company was founded in 1873. Thomas Bouch's design was abandoned in 1879; one brick pier of his scheme still stands at Inchgarvie. Fowler and Baker's cantilever design was approved in 1882, and construction began in 1883.
The bridge's official site lists the milestones: the last caisson launched in 1885, pier foundations completed in 1886, the three towers in 1887 and the cantilevers in 1889. It opened on 4 March 1890, when Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, inserted a final inscribed gold-plated rivet.
Three towers and long arms
The bridge has three big steel towers standing on strong granite bases.
Each tower holds out two long arms. The arms are joined in the middle by shorter pieces.
The bridge is a cantilever bridge. Each of its three steel towers holds out two long arms, one on each side, so that the arms balance each other. Each arm reaches 207 meters from its tower, and the arms of neighboring towers are joined by a 107-meter section hung between them.
That makes the two main spans 521 meters long. UNESCO says they were the longest single spans in the world for 28 years.
UNESCO describes three double-cantilever towers rising 110 m above their granite pier foundations, each with cantilever arms projecting 207 m and linked by suspended spans of 107 m, giving main spans of 521 m. These were individually the longest in the world for 28 years and remain collectively the longest in a multi-span cantilever bridge.
The compression members are mild-steel plates rolled and riveted into tubes 4 m across, with lighter steel members working in tension. UNESCO notes that using mild steel, a relatively new material in the 1880s, on such a scale was innovative. Before the work began, Baker measured wind pressure with gauges he set up on the shore of the Forth.
Steel, rivets and red paint
Millions of metal pins called rivets hold the steel pieces together.
The bridge is painted red. Painting it all is a very big job!
Steel pieces for the bridge were first put together on land, then taken apart and carried out by boat to be fixed in place. Millions of rivets hold the steel together.
The bridge's paint color is called Forth Bridge Red. Between 2002 and 2011, all the old paint was taken off and a new, tougher coating was put on. Its highest point is 110 meters above high water.
Historic Environment Scotland notes that the bridge was first built in sections on land, then dismantled and taken out by boat for re-erection. The underwater foundations of the towers were made with wrought-iron cylinders 21 m across, called caissons, set on the sea bed and filled with concrete. The contractor William Arrol's innovations included a hydraulic spade and riveting machines.
The paint color, Forth Bridge Red, is similar in shade to iron oxide. In everyday speech, 'painting the Forth Bridge' means a task that never seems to end. Between 2002 and 2011 all earlier coats were removed and a hard-wearing coating, first developed for North Sea oil rigs, was applied.
- Main spans
- 521 m each
- Highest point
- 110 m above high water
- Color
- Forth Bridge Red
From the shore at South Queensferry
In this photo, the sky is orange behind the bridge. Can you count the three big towers?
This photo was taken in June 2008 from the rocky shore at South Queensferry. The sky glows orange behind the bridge. You can see the three cantilever towers, one behind another, and on the right, a long straight part held up on tall stone piers.
The water looks smooth and misty, and rocks covered in green and yellow growth sit along the shore.
The photograph (June 2008, by George Gastin) looks across the firth from the shore of South Queensferry. The three cantilever towers recede into the distance, while to the right the approach viaduct runs on tall, tapering masonry piers; Historic Environment Scotland notes that the approach viaducts stand 45 m above the water.
The photographer's own description calls it a late-night view of the bridge from the shore.
Amazing facts
-
A prince opened the bridge by putting in one last golden rivet!
On 4 March 1890, the Prince of Wales opened the bridge by putting in a final gold-plated rivet.
The bridge opened on 4 March 1890, with Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, inserting a final inscribed gold-plated rivet.
-
People say 'painting the Forth Bridge' about a job that never ends!
Painting the bridge is such a big job that 'painting the Forth Bridge' is said about any task that seems never to end.
'Painting the Forth Bridge' is used in conversation for any task that appears never-ending; between 2002 and 2011 a long-lasting coating replaced all earlier coats.
-
Three men once posed for a photo to show how this bridge stays up!
In 1887, three men were positioned for a photograph to model the cantilever idea used in the bridge.
A photograph of 1887 shows three men positioned to model the cantilever principle used in the bridge.
Words to know
- cantilever
- a long arm that sticks out from a support and is held up only at one end
- firth
- a Scottish word for a wide inlet of the sea or the mouth of a river
- rivet
- a metal pin used to join pieces of metal tightly together
- span
- the part of a bridge between two supports
- caisson
- a huge watertight box or cylinder used to build foundations under water
- viaduct
- a long bridge carried on a row of arches or piers
Discovery challenge
-
What crosses the Forth Bridge?
What kind of traffic does the Forth Bridge carry?
UNESCO says the bridge still works as originally intended, carrying what?
- Trains
- Ships
- Airplanes
Show the answer
Trains
Trains!
Trains: it is a railway bridge.
Passenger and freight trains.
-
How many big towers does the bridge have?
How many cantilever towers hold up the Forth Bridge?
How many double-cantilever towers form the superstructure?
- 3
- 1
- 10
Show the answer
3
Three!
Three.
Three, on granite piers.
-
What color is the bridge painted?
What is the name of the bridge's paint color?
Which named color, similar in shade to iron oxide, covers the bridge?
- Forth Bridge Red
- Sky Blue
- Lemon Yellow
Show the answer
Forth Bridge Red
Red!
Forth Bridge Red.
Forth Bridge Red.
-
In which country is the Forth Bridge?
In which part of the United Kingdom is the Forth Bridge?
Which two places does the bridge link by railway?
- Scotland: Edinburgh and Fife
- England: London and Dover
- Wales: Cardiff and Swansea
Show the answer
Scotland: Edinburgh and Fife
Scotland!
Scotland.
Edinburgh and Fife, in Scotland.
-
When did the bridge open?
In which year did the Forth Bridge open?
In which year, on 4 March, was the bridge opened by the Prince of Wales?
- 1890
- 1990
- 1790
Show the answer
1890
In 1890!
1890.
1890.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain how a cantilever works: an arm held at one end and balanced by an arm on the other side.
- Describe how engineers built foundations under water using caissons.
- Explain why big steel structures need repainting, and what the phrase 'painting the Forth Bridge' means.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Three men posed in 1887 to show how the bridge works. How could you show a cantilever with your own arms?
- Why might engineers test the wind before building a tall bridge over open water?
- What jobs in your life feel like 'painting the Forth Bridge'?
Try at home or in class
- Make a model cantilever bridge: tape two rulers so they stick out from two stacks of books toward each other, then lay a short strip of card across the gap between their ends.
- Build a cantilever with books stacked on the edge of a table and see how far the top book can stick out.
Key vocabulary: cantilever, firth, rivet, span, caisson, viaduct
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- The Forth Bridge (World Heritage List) , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Forth Bridge (LB40370) , Historic Environment Scotland
- Forth Bridge Facts & Figures , The Forth Bridges (Forth Bridges Forum, Transport Scotland)
- File:Forthrailbridgefromsouthqueensferry.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.