Edinburgh retro: incredible pictures of the Forth Road Bridge in the 1960s

Edinburgh Evening News

Part of our Edinburgh retro series, this video looks at incredible photos of the construction and opening of one of Scotland's marvels of engineering, the Forth Road Bridge.

Transcript

00:00 Hello, I'm Neil from The Evening News and this video is part of a retro series where

00:05 we look back at historic pictures of Edinburgh. In this video we'll be looking at the construction

00:11 and opening of one of Scotland's marvels of engineering, the Forth Road Bridge.

00:18 Up until 1964, those wanting to take their car between Edinburgh and Fife were forced

00:23 to rely on a centuries old ferry service over the Forth Estuary. The only other option was

00:28 a long road trip to Stirling Old Bridge or post-1936 the Kirkarden Bridge. Here we see

00:35 cars queuing at South Queensferry to board the ferry across the Forth, three months before

00:40 the Forth Road Bridge opened. This picture from 1962 shows a painter walking down the

00:46 centre girder of the Forth Bridge, looking over at the ongoing construction to the Forth

00:51 Road Bridge. Here we see Captain R.A. Mason aboard the Queen Margaret during the final

00:57 ferry crossing of the Forth before the bridge opened in September 1964. This picture from

01:04 1961 shows the construction of the approach road to the bridge near Dalmeny. Working on

01:10 the bridge was not for the faint hearted and having a head for heights was essential for

01:14 those painting the Forth Road Bridge. Here we see a man painting the main suspension

01:19 steel ropes on the Forth Road Bridge in September 1963. By July 1963 the bridge was starting

01:28 to take shape. It would take roughly six years to complete the build using 39,000 tonnes

01:34 of steel and 125,000 cubic metres of concrete. Here we see the bridge nearing completion

01:41 in September 1963, one year before it opened. This picture from April 1960 shows the bridge's

01:49 anchorage in steel ducts through which the supporting wires would eventually pass. Forth

01:56 Road Bridge workers James MacDonald and James MacEwan posed for a picture on the bridge

02:01 the day before it opened to the public. Here we see workmen adding the final touches ahead

02:07 of the opening of the bridge in 1964. Lord Provost Weatherstone greets the Queen and

02:15 Duke of Edinburgh at the opening of the Forth Road Bridge on September 4th 1964. On that

02:23 day members of the Red Cross were some of the first people to arrive at the opening

02:27 ceremony of the bridge. School children from North Queensferry had the best view in the

02:33 house for the opening of the bridge. Here we see another crowd waiting at North Queensferry

02:38 for the Queen's arrival at the official opening of the bridge. To celebrate the event a special

02:44 set of stamps were issued by the Royal Mail that year. Here we see one of the first drivers

02:51 to cross the bridge and pay the toll in 1964. The toll charge would stay in place until

02:57 2008 when it was scrapped by the Scottish Parliament. This picture shows the Scotsman

03:03 News and Dispatch van crossing the Forth Road Bridge for the first time. A policeman can

03:08 be seen here monitoring traffic as they queue to pay the bridge toll shortly after the Forth

03:13 Road Bridge opened. Mr Wilson, the first Forth Road Bridge master, poses for a picture in

03:19 front of the toll booths in 1964. And finally this picture from June 1965 shows the plaque

03:27 that was unveiled by Lord Provis Weatherstone in memory of the seven men who were killed

03:32 during the construction of the Forth Road Bridge. If you'd like to check out more retro

03:40 content you can visit our website at www.edmundnews.scotsman.com and click on the retro tab.

03:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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