FORTH BRIDGE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 281, 18 October 1889, Page 4

FORTH BRIDGE.

. The STTiroTnuE Completed. i The great Forth "brirlg.? is ro^ finished. This is the great es: wrk '< of its km J in tho world. An our! readers will ho. a\v»ve, \ho btidge in question is for ra livay prrposos and is eaivied a-cvn- a the va ley of the Fovtk. Cerfcaiu veiy remavkah'e featiues are presented; the bridge is necessa ily at a great elevation — equal to the height of St Paul's Cathedral — abovo the sea level, and . the loyality is notably a wind-swept one. The constructive details, therefore, demanded exce-sive streng h, and as little resisiauce as possible to the storm winds- Tha spans (two) are a third of a mile in length, nnd are constructed of girder and lattice work. There are two cantileveis of 630 ft long, united by 350 t of girder. It it calculated that the wind pressure will not he mo r e than 501 b per fo it, amounting to 2GOO tons on one span. The rolling load at any given time — allow u£ tha r is, fo" two trains being- on the bridge — will nnt be more than about 600 tors. On August 21st, 1888, at the half yearly meeting of the Bridge Company, the Marquis of Tweeddale presided, and was very sanguine that the work would be finished in October, 1889. This prediction lias been verified, and it may be taken for granted that tho railway approaches, from Edinburgh on one side and Fife on the oilier, are completed also. In the course of the builbing of tlie bridge it was estimated that the moti'lily average tonnage erected exceeded 1400 tons, with a maximum of 2350 tons The total amount of steel work manufactured for the bridge was upwards of 42,000 tons. Details: Tota length bridge <i ! 8084 ft: two main spans, cash 17101t; three main towerp, each 875 ft high. Iv the middle of the arm of the sta which the bridge crosses is tlie Island of Inchgr.o.vie, whioh has, of course, been utilised