Press release -
Bridge on the river...why?
VisitScotland and Network Rail have today launched a global hunt to uncover the origins of mysterious, 71-year-old plans to reconstruct the iconic Forth Bridge.
Blueprints unearthed by engineers working on designs for a new visitor facility show a three-arch structure, similar to that of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, dating back to 1945.
One theory is that the design for the bridge was a contingency measure, should the world-famous Victorian structure have fallen victim to a V2 rocket attack during the Second World War.
Network Rail, which owns the World Heritage Site, and national tourism organisation VisitScotland are now trying to track down anyone who knows who drew up the plans… and why.
The two engineers’ drawings were found in a microfiche file among a box of historic documents and show a new bridge alignment and a ‘reconstructed’ bridge profile. The annotated plans are dated 22 January 1945 and are attributed to the ‘Engineers Department Edinburgh’.
Sited just to the east of the existing bridge, the alternative alignment would have seen the railway deviate through some historic parts of Dalmeny and North Queensferry.
The ambitious design – the equivalent of building three Sydney Harbour Bridges back to back – shows arches standing at 110 metres high, the height of the existing structure. The track would have been the same height, but the four masonry towers would have stood at a colossal 70 metres.
Ian Heigh, a senior project manager for Network Rail developing the visitor centre proposals, said: “It’s amazing that a 126-year-old structure like the Forth Bridge can still offer us new mysteries. These plans date from early 1945, towards the end of the Second World War, so we think they may have been drawn up as a contingency plan in the event of a V2 rocket strike.
“To be honest, even Network Rail’s longest serving railway engineers seem to be a bit perplexed by the true purpose of these proposals. If this bridge had been built, the entire character of the area would have altered, not just the famous landmark. We’d love to know more about these plans, so I’d encourage anyone with more information to get in touch.”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Everyone loves a good mystery, and this one has the experts stumped! It seems very appropriate that designs for a Forth bridge that might have been have surfaced during Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and in a year that will also see the opening of the Queensferry Crossing. Hopefully, somebody out there will be able to shed some light on the origin of these remarkable blueprints, which add to the sense of history and intrigue associated with the Forth Bridge – one of Scotland’s greatest global icons.”
The blueprints formed the basis of an April Fools’ joke by VisitScotland, Network Rail and The Daily Record, which reported that plans for a “Fourth Forth Bridge” were in the pipeline.
The clues were in the name of the architect, Ailsa Polyford (an anagram of “April Fools’ Day”); VisitScotland’s Director of Crossings Josh Atikies (“This is a Joke”); and the project’s budget of £1,420,160,000 (1/04/2016).
While there are no plans to create a new railway bridge, the 71-year-old designs are genuine.
To hear Network Rail's Craig Bowman discussing the plans, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPv7FiyU338
If you have more information about the plans, please email: info@forthbridgeexperience.com
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
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Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016 - 2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design begins on 1 January 2016 and ends on 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the current 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed creative industries sector.
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).
- The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- Join the conversation at #IAD2016
- Events can join the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design Partner Programme throughout the year by visiting http://www.eventscotland.org/YIAD_partner_programme
