The workers that had begun building the Forth Railway Bridge, nine miles west of Edinburgh, in 1882 were haunted by the tragic events of a few years earlier. On a winter night in 1879, a storm whipped up the waters of the Firth of Tay. Freezing rain lashed down on the new railway bridge that spanned it, while hurricane-force winds buffeted the iron sides that stretched out into the darkness.
Out in the distance, a light was seen. Through the roar of the wind, the determined grunting of a steam engine grew louder, making its way towards the bridge. As it trundled across, its red tail light vanished. A witness in the signalling house couldn't believe his eyes. Then the grim reality dawned on him. The iron supports had crumpled, pitching the locomotive into the water. No one survived.
Sir Thomas Bouch had designed that bridge. He was devastated by the accident (for which he was largely blamed), and died a few months later. The problem was he already had another project on the go – a railway bridge over the Firth of Forth.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Work on Bouch's Forth Bridge was immediately halted. Engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker went back to the drawing board, and came up with a new design for a cantilever bridge that called on the latest in steel manufacture.
Seven years later, in November 1889, the Forth Bridge was finally finished. It was the longest bridge in the world at over a mile and a half when it was officially opened the following March by the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII.
Rumour had it that the bridge was so long that no sooner had you finished painting it you had to begin all over again at the other end, leading to the expression "painting the Forth Bridge" to mean a never-ending task not something I'd like to test.
-
How Avios points work: how to collect and spend themAvios points offer worthwhile rewards for the savvy traveller. We explain how to collect, keep track of, and make the most of your Avios points
-
Unilever braces for inflation amid tariff uncertainty – what does it mean for investors?Consumer-goods giant Unilever has made steady progress simplifying its operations. Will tariffs now cause turbulence?
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar SquareFeatures On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is createdFeatures On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formedFeatures On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
