Bridge over troubled water – gales greet Prince for opening

ON 5 March, 1890, the Forth Bridge was formally opened by the Prince of Wales. More than 100spectators gathered at Forth Bridge Station to await the arrival of the Prince and watch the 10.45 special service glide past them. Regarded as an engineering marvel and a symbol of Scotland, the iconic steel-built cantilever rail bridge spans the Forth between South Queensferry and North Queensferry, with a total length of 8,094ft. Opening of the Forth Bridge by Prince of Wales The formal opening of the Forth Bridge took place yesterday, in the midst of a gale which was said to be “worthy of the occasion”.

Despite the boisterous weather, however, everything connected with this important event passed off in the most successful manner.

A brilliant company assembled to assist at the cermonials; Royalty lent its gracious countenance; representatives, chiefly connected with engineering and railways, were present from France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and other Continental countries; a very distinguished company of gentlemen from all parts of our own country were present, embracing members of the Peerage, the House of Commons and many scientific, commercial and academic institutions; and the banquet, which followed by the driving of the last rivet by the Prince of Wales and the formal opening declaration, was appropriately crowned by the announcement of well-merited honours which the Queen has been pleased to confer on Sir John Fowler and Mr Benjamin Baker, the engineers, and Mr William Arrol, the contractor, whose inventive and mechanical skill has been so abundantly displayed during the construction of the structure.

March is one of Edinburgh’s bad months, and the weather yesterday was certainly not of the kind that is usually described as attendant on the fortunes of the Royal House at State ceremonials. The forecast from the Meteorlogical Department gave for the day “north-westerly winds, freshening, with some rain and sleet” but fortunately the rain and sleet were omitted from the programme, though of wind there was sufficient to give all who crossed the bridge an idea of the gales which have been so often upon it while it was building, and which the completed structure will have to resist.

It was blowing fairly hard in the early forenoon when the Prince crossed the Bridge, but by the time he had accomplished a very rough voyage on the water to see the structure from the Forth, and had returned to perform the closing ceremonials in the history of the great work, the gale had greatly increased, Mr Baker’s estimate being that the pressure on the Bridge would be about 15 lb to the square foot, which represented a velocity of something like 50 to 60 miles an hour.

The crossing of the Bridge by the Royal train in this gale was really a memorable feature in the proceedings of the day. The carriages rocked a little, as they will do in a high wind upon land, but the vibration of the Bridge itself was really scarcely felt.

The programme for the day was carried out as had been arranged, except that two trains instead of one, as the reading of the invitation card might have suggested, passed over the bridge.

That with the bulk of the invited company went first, and ran right on to North Queensferry via Inverkeithing without stopping, while the train with the Prince of Wales, the Royal party, the engineers, and the directors of the guaranteeing railways followed at some distance behind.

The Prince of Wales drove the last rivet and declared the bridge open.

A banquet followed, at which interesting speeches were made by the Prince, Lord Roseberry, Lord Tweeddale, and others; and all who had taken a direct part in the proceedings were greatly pleased.

Considering the season of the year, and that no holiday had been declared in Edinburgh for the occasion, there was a large attendance of the public on both sides of the Forth to view what could be seen of the ceremonial, and the Prince received a most hearty reception.

His Royal Highness, as also the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince George seemed to be in excellent spirits, affable and pleasant to all with whom they came in contact, and appeared also to take the liveliest interest in proceedings for the day. 0 The Forth Bridge was a marvel of its day and the opening ceremony on a blowy March morning was attended by representatives from many European countries