Building the Forth Bridge

[been here before]

Came across this today:

 

 

 

Tweed coat, stout boots and a bunnet with maybe a wire to hold on to. None if your modern, fancy dan safety pish for these boys.

 

Hardy or off their heads? Probably a bit of both.

 

The bit at the end with the boy hammering the beam and his mate clambering about beside him....  🥴

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 hour ago, been here before said:

Came across this today:

 

 

 

Tweed coat, stout boots and a bunnet with maybe a wire to hold on to. None if your modern, fancy dan safety pish for these boys.

 

Hardy or off their heads? Probably a bit of both.

 

The bit at the end with the boy hammering the beam and his mate clambering about beside him....  🥴

Thanks for that.

I never get bored of seeing any footage of that icon of engineering.

[Weakened Offender]

A lot of the boys who died building it are still in it. They fell inside the structure and were just left there. 

[trotter]

16 minutes ago, Weakened Offender said:

A lot of the boys who died building it are still in it. They fell inside the structure and were just left there. 

Jesus, I didn't know that

[JFK-1]

Yesterday apparently.

Police confirm a person has died at the Forth Rail Bridge

[been here before]

 

25 minutes ago, Weakened Offender said:

A lot of the boys who died building it are still in it. They fell inside the structure and were just left there. 

 

First Ive heard of that.

 

Any references for that as there seems to be nothing at all online that I can find.

[JFK-1]

8 minutes ago, been here before said:

 

 

First Ive heard of that.

 

Any references for that as there seems to be nothing at all online that I can find.

 

I think that may be quite common or at least used to be during the building of mega structures. There were instances where it just wasn't practical to recover the body.

[been here before]

4 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

 

I think that may be quite common or at least used to be during the building of mega structures. There were instances where it just wasn't practical to recover the body.

 

That may well be the case but I cant find one single mention of that regarding the Forth Bridge. 

 

Youd think given the relatively recent work done for the memorial, including the discovery of 20 odd deaths that had went unrecorded and the work done around The Briggers book and the book I quoted earlier there would be a mention of this.

[Weakened Offender]

1 hour ago, been here before said:

 

 

First Ive heard of that.

 

Any references for that as there seems to be nothing at all online that I can find.

 

My uncles pal told me. He used to do tours for the Edinburgh University students years ago. He told me that some of the poor sods didn't die outright and that the workmen would often work in other areas of the structure until their screaming had stopped. I guess there's written records somewhere but he knew his stuff about the bridge, it was a real hobby of his. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 minute ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

My uncles pal told me. He used to do tours for the Edinburgh University students years ago. He told me that some of the poor sods didn't die outright and that the workmen would often work in other areas of the structure until their screaming had stopped. I guess there's written records somewhere but he knew his stuff about the bridge, it was a real hobby of his. 

Horrendous.

[Weakened Offender]

3 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

Horrendous.

 

Yup. Although he said it was always the students favourite part of the talk. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 minute ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

Yup. Although he said it was always the students favourite part of the talk. 

No surprise there.

[Homme]

Been involved the past two days with yesterday's incident. Tragic 😞

[Homme]

2 hours ago, Weakened Offender said:

A lot of the boys who died building it are still in it. They fell inside the structure and were just left there. 

 

I've never heard that one mate. Not a single time. 

[Weakened Offender]

Just now, Homme said:

 

I've never heard that one mate. Not a single time. 

 

Neither had I until he told me. Most of not all of the deaths must have been from falling, its certainly far from inconceivable that more than a few fell into it and not off it. 

[Homme]

3 minutes ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

Neither had I until he told me. Most of not all of the deaths must have been from falling, its certainly far from inconceivable that more than a few fell into it and not off it. 

 

Falling and falling materials yeah. Must have been a nightmare. 

 

Depends what you mean by into the structure. Because the internals of the structures larger members are accessable and are periodically examined and painted. Nobody has come across any human remains. 

 

The Briggers who know everything have never mentioned it. 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Homme

[Weakened Offender]

3 minutes ago, Homme said:

 

Falling and falling materials yeah. Must have been a nightmare. 

 

Depends what you mean by into the structure. Because the internals of the structures larger members are accessable and are periodically examined and painted. Nobody has come across any human remains. 

 

The Briggers who know everything have never mentioned it. 

 

The big cylinder tubes was what he told me. Maybe it's a bit grissly for the public record of an iconic structure, maybe its an urban myth. As I said previously, it's hardly inconceivable and as another poster mentioned, it probably wasn't that uncommon. 

 

Not having a pop at you btw, pal. 😊

[Homme]

1 minute ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

The big cylinder tubes was what he told me. Maybe it's a bit grissly for the public record of an iconic structure, maybe its an urban myth. As I said previously, it's hardly inconceivable and as another poster mentioned, it probably wasn't that uncommon. 

 

Not having a pop at you btw, pal. 😊

 

Loads of wee myths about the bridge and I think this might be one of them. Maybe not though. The myths make the whole story about the bridge extra special tbh! 

[Weakened Offender]

2 minutes ago, Homme said:

 

Loads of wee myths about the bridge and I think this might be one of them. Maybe not though. The myths make the whole story about the bridge extra special tbh! 

 

Absolutely, its a superb sight. 

[Alex]

1 hour ago, Homme said:

 

Loads of wee myths about the bridge and I think this might be one of them. Maybe not though. The myths make the whole story about the bridge extra special tbh! 

I'd certainly heard about folk not dying outright and that food/water would be lowered down to them with poison in it to help them on their was. I had it in my head it was in the stone "feet" but I don't know if I was told that or assumed it.

 

I don't have evidence it is true but with the lack of any safety gear in those days I had no reason to disbelieve it.

[Weakened Offender]

12 minutes ago, Alex said:

I'd certainly heard about folk not dying outright and that food/water would be lowered down to them with poison in it to help them on their was.

 

That was mentioned to me but I was told they stopped lowering food/water as it prolonged the cries for help/screaming and eventually they just left them and worked elsewhere. 

[Jamstomorrow]

6 hours ago, been here before said:

Came across this today:

 

 

 

Tweed coat, stout boots and a bunnet with maybe a wire to hold on to. None if your modern, fancy dan safety pish for these boys.

 

Hardy or off their heads? Probably a bit of both.

 

The bit at the end with the boy hammering the beam and his mate clambering about beside him....  🥴

I could feel my palms and feet getting clammy just watching this film!   

[Cairneyhill Jambo]

[John mcCartney]

1 hour ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

That was mentioned to me but I was told they stopped lowering food/water as it prolonged the cries for help/screaming and eventually they just left them and worked elsewhere. 

stop it now chief,its becoming ridiculous

This aint funny tho           https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penmanshiel_Tunnel
Happened in 79,as I lived beside the main line at Craigentimnny depot it became noticably quiet at that time with an absence of trains running past on the East Coast Main Line.Then the news came of the disaster.The line was blocked for months on end and all trains were rerouted via the West Coast Main Line.
Two men are entombed in the tunnel which can be seen now when your driving on the A1,the road skirts around the huge wooded hill where the tunnel is situated near Grantshouse.

Rest in peace   Gordon Turnbull and Peter Fowler

[Weakened Offender]

25 minutes ago, John mcCartney said:

stop it now chief,its becoming ridiculous
 

 

 

How. 

[JFK-1]

For anybody who is interested in the building of mega structures this is an interesting documentary about the building of Hoover dam which when it was completed w the largest in the world.

A minimum of 96 men died during the construction, none entombed. This documentary which I first saw some years ago was how I learned something I had always wondered about. How do you build a dam on the river with the water flowing over the spot you want to build on?
 

 

[trotter]

22 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

For anybody who is interested in the building of mega structures this is an interesting documentary about the building of Hoover dam which when it was completed w the largest in the world.

A minimum of 96 men died during the construction, none entombed. This documentary which I first saw some years ago was how I learned something I had always wondered about. How do you build a dam on the river with the water flowing over the spot you want to build on?
 

 

Cofferdams and temporary diversions 

Edited July 15, 2020 by trotter

[queensferryjambo]

On 03/01/2020 at 21:02, The Real Maroonblood said:

My humble connection with the bridge is my grandfather used to be one of the painters.

 

My Grandfather was also a bridge painter on the Forth Bridge. He was from Queensferry anyway and got a job painting the Bridge when he came out the Army after WW2. 

 

He was in a couple of documentaries about the bridge many years ago. 

[JFK-1]

20 minutes ago, trotter said:

Cofferdams and temporary diversions 

 

Exactly what I learned watching a documentary about the building of the Hoover dam. Another I watched was actually somewhat more detailed than the one I posted here. It described how they spent years beforehand surveying up and down the river before picking the spot to build on.

On the day the diversion tunnels were completed they began dumping the rock they excavated from the tunnels into the river. Everyone stood watching as hours passed and they continued dumping more and more rock into the river.

Eventually the water began to flow off into the tunnels and as they watched the flow of water on the other side of the rock they were dumping gradually slowed.

Then ultimately it had completely stopped and for the first time in millions of years the river bed was exposed. Apparently an obnoxious smell for quite sometime afterwards.

[JFK-1]

2 minutes ago, queensferryjambo said:

 

My Grandfather was also a bridge painter on the Forth Bridge. He was from Queensferry anyway and got a job painting the Bridge when he came out the Army after WW2. 

 

He was in a couple of documentaries about the bridge many years ago. 

 

Apparently a potentially dangerous occupation even in relatively recent times.
 

Quote

Matti Watson, a blaster paint supervisor, said it was dangerous work when he started painting the bridge in 1971. He said: "There were rope cradles when I first started with the pulleys.
 

"Now it's scaffold, which is probably a lot safer for everybody concerned. "A bucket and a brush, that's how it was done. A big round brush and a big bucket. You had to carry them wherever you went. There were no safety belts in those days."

 

I had thought about the bridge painters since I was a child because something a primary school teacher once said to us always stuck in my mind.

She said it was a never ending job. By the time it was completed it was time to start from the beginning again. But not anymore. Seems new materials mean a paint job can last 25 years.

[trotter]

21 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

 

Exactly what I learned watching a documentary about the building of the Hoover dam. Another I watched was actually somewhat more detailed than the one I posted here. It described how they spent years beforehand surveying up and down the river before picking the spot to build on.

On the day the diversion tunnels were completed they began dumping the rock they excavated from the tunnels into the river. Everyone stood watching as hours passed and they continued dumping more and more rock into the river.

Eventually the water began to flow off into the tunnels and as they watched the flow of water on the other side of the rock they were dumping gradually slowed.

Then ultimately it had completely stopped and for the first time in millions of years the river bed was exposed. Apparently an obnoxious smell for quite sometime afterwards.

One of the other fun/interesting facts about the Hoover Dam is that it was made as a big jigsaw from pre-poured concrete blocks. The reason this was done was that someone realised that as concrete sets it gives off heat. If they poured it in one continuous mould it would have taken 130 years for the interior to cool down. Which means that in winter it would still theoretically be hot to the touch today!!

 

I love massive engineering projects. They just boggle the mind.

[trotter]

23 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

 

Apparently a potentially dangerous occupation even in relatively recent times.
 

I had thought about the bridge painters since I was a child because something a primary school teacher once said to us always stuck in my mind.

She said it was a never ending job. By the time it was completed it was time to start from the beginning again. But not anymore. Seems new materials mean a paint job can last 25 years.

The phrase 'painting the Forth Bridge' entered into Scottish and the wider British language as well as the Cambridge Dictionary of Idioms to describe an arduous task that is seemingly never-ending believe it or not.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578986/Non-stop-job-of-painting-Forth-Bridge-to-end.html

Edited July 15, 2020 by trotter

[¼½¾]

1 hour ago, JFK-1 said:

For anybody who is interested in the building of mega structures this is an interesting documentary about the building of Hoover dam which when it was completed w the largest in the world.

A minimum of 96 men died during the construction, none entombed. This documentary which I first saw some years ago was how I learned something I had always wondered about. How do you build a dam on the river with the water flowing over the spot you want to build on?
 

 

I often wondered that myself.

 

The first three years were spent building the granite piers on which the bridge was to be supported. This was done by sinking caissons – great wrought iron cylinders – to the sea bed and pumping them out so that men could work on the floor of the Forth, creating foundations and building up the piers. This was dangerous and unpleasant work and, in two of the caissons the depth was such that water had to be kept out by filling the working chamber at the bottom with compressed air, the men going through air locks to get to their work.

https://www.theforthbridges.org/forth-bridge/history/building-the-bridge/

 

 

 

[queensferryjambo]

35 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

 

Apparently a potentially dangerous occupation even in relatively recent times.
 

 

Very dangerous. My Grandad saw one man fall and die from the bridge and was friends with two others who died. I am sure we have a couple of pictures of my Grandad being held by his work colleagues by a rope around his waiste whilst working on the bridge. Think we might have others of him mixing paint as well.

 

Not sure who the man who fell in front of him was but he told the story in one of the documentaries. The man was forever being told by his boss to take his hands out his pockets as he walked all the time with his hands in his pockets. My Grandad said when he saw him fall he tripped and had his hands in his pockets and just never got the time to grab onto anything. When he reported the accident to his boss the boss made them make up makeshift hand written signs saying not to walk with your hands in your pockets and they were put in strategic places on the bridge. When the documentary team where on the bridge they found one of the hand written signs in one of the little huts the painters used as shelters. 

 

The other two men who he knew who died were father and son their surnames were Marshall. My Grandad used to pop in and see old Mrs Marshall up at Dalmeny before he died to give her a hand some times. Not sure if Mrs Marshall is still alive though. She used to also feature in a fair few Bridge programmes due to her unfortunate story.

[The Real Maroonblood]

Great to hear the stories about the bridge.

[Tommy Brown]

23 hours ago, Cairneyhill Jambo said:

That is a cracker.

 

So jealous of anyone who can walk about at heights.

I would be lying down and clinging on for my life.

[John Findlay]

On 14/07/2020 at 17:58, Homme said:

 

I've never heard that one mate. Not a single time. 

Sadly wont be the last either.

[Tazio]

I think the men being left to die thing came from the Iain Banks novel The Bridge. 

[Deodato]

Its a TEN! Best television I've seen in years. The presenter is destined for BIG things. 

 

The whole series is fantastic - I'd go to 5OD and check Clifton Suspension Bridge, it ranks a close second. 

 

Also the Severn Bridge and Humber Bridge are good docs too - surfing down the river scenes are crazy.

 

https://www.channel5.com/show/britains-greatest-bridges/

Edited July 16, 2020 by Deodato

[tynietot]

Just before they finished the Queensferry Crossing they had a sort of museum/ gallery type thing on site with loads of pictures of the old bridges under construction. I popped in after a camping trip to the Cairngorms and got talking to the guy there who, after about half an hour, disclosed to me that there were in fact at least 4 bodies in the structure. They had apparently fallen in and it was impossible to get them out so they sent poisoned food down the chutes to the men. Can’t imagine he was lying. I believed him anyway. 

[Carl Fredrickson]

My dad told me the same story Re sending poisoned food down to injured men. That was in the 1970s so might predate the Iain Banks book. What I didnt understand was why wouldnt you drop a rope down for them and let them tie it to themselves.

 

Re the tunnel near the A1 at Cockburnspath, my dad told me that story too when I was a teenager in the 1980s. I didnt realise that it was a recent tragedy. 

[been here before]

Boy looking to get a Lego Bridge into production...

 

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/best-in-edinburgh/scotland-could-first-ever-lego-18614440

 

Some cracking pictures of his work-

 

 

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/gallery/47m-lego-forth-bridge-assembled-16669009

 

 

 

Where to sign...

 

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b8f1ba39-7027-4995-9cf1-c579df699364

 

[Homme]

There is another TV programme in the works from National Geographic, however COVID has delayed it until next year now. 

 

But what they are proposing sounds great. 

[Homme]

You'll also notice some bullshit article in todays daily record. Now they approached me for comment and neglected to quote me at all in their piece. 

 

A tiny little picture of paint peeling off a steel member with no context whatsoever. They are claiming the paint is failing after only 9 years when it supposedly to last 25 years. 

 

The miniscule area in question could be in an area last painted 20 years ago and would be expected to be in the condition it is in if that was the case. Even then, it maybe is just a small part that hasn't been applied properly. 

 

The paint on the bridge is holding up as expected or better than expected in nearly all parts of the bridge. The bridge itself is in the best condition it has ever been in following the years after it was built. 

 

To be expected from the daily record of course but hey ho! 

[Smack]

Vaguely on topic 😒 Lightning over West Lothian lights up the bridge. Just took it about 20 minutes ago. Had to compress it to upload here so a wee bit grainy.

 

[luckyBatistuta]

1 hour ago, Smack said:

Vaguely on topic 😒 Lightning over West Lothian lights up the bridge. Just took it about 20 minutes ago. Had to compress it to upload here so a wee bit grainy.

 

Top work, a great capture👏👏👏

[Smack]

9 hours ago, luckyBatistuta said:

Top work, a great capture👏👏👏

Thanks for your enthusiasm 😁 It's not great, I was hoping to catch a fork zapping somewhere near the bridge.

[Mikey1874]

New video 

 

 

[Fxxx the SPFL]

11 minutes ago, Mikey1874 said:

New video 

 

 

cracking video youngest brother was a train driver and used to send me pics and videos of some of his journeys i'm sure he wasn't allowed to but there was some good stuff he's retired now lucky git.

[Restonbabe]

On 14/07/2020 at 21:48, John mcCartney said:

stop it now chief,its becoming ridiculous

This aint funny tho           https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penmanshiel_Tunnel
Happened in 79,as I lived beside the main line at Craigentimnny depot it became noticably quiet at that time with an absence of trains running past on the East Coast Main Line.Then the news came of the disaster.The line was blocked for months on end and all trains were rerouted via the West Coast Main Line.
Two men are entombed in the tunnel which can be seen now when your driving on the A1,the road skirts around the huge wooded hill where the tunnel is situated near Grantshouse.

Rest in peace   Gordon Turnbull and Peter Fowler

Funny you mention this. I was talking to the guys building Reston Station down here about it and one of them said you can still see the tunnel entrance going north to Edinburgh. If you go past grantshouse take a left up to penmmanshiel Farm. The memorial is half way up the hill. 

As you turn off the A1 drive 100 yards up the fence to get into the tracks to the left of it. Walk along the dirt path and you come across it

 

Next dry day down here I will go take a pic for you