Forth Rail Bridge Memorial

                                                                                                                                                                                              On Friday 18th May 2012,Alex Salmond the First Minister of Scotland unveiled two memorials to the men killed in the construction of the Forth Rail Bridge. Located at either end of the bridge in North and South Queensferry,the cast bronze memorials bear the names,ages and occupations of 73 men,known as 'briggers'. Around the base are the the words:

  To the Briggers,past and present who built,restored and continue to maintain this iconic structure.

This event is the culmination of a ten year restoration project by Network Rail and Balfour Beattie and finally sees the bridge for the first time in as many years without scaffolding. Local members of the Queensferry History Group and enthusiasts over the last seven years have trawled through records in archives and newspapers to identify the fatalities.

Construction spanned 1883-1890 and used over 6.5million rivets in the 1.5mile long bridge. This week sees the positioning of the steel caissons for the foundations of the third Forth Bridge due to open in 2016. There are plans to raise funds for similar memorials to commemorate those killed in the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879.

Forth Rail Bridge from South Queensferry

The list of names can be viewed at :

http://www.forthbridgememorial.org/men.htm

http://www.queensferryhistorygroup.org.uk/