Edinburgh’s Lift Bridge gains Red Wheel award
LEAMINGTON Lift Bridge in Edinburgh has been awarded a Red Wheel by the National Transport Trust. The award is inscribed ‘Erected over the Union Canal at Fountainbridge in 1906. Relocated here in 1923 when the canal was cut back from Port Hopetoun to the Lochrin Basin.’
The hydraulic lift bridge originally stood near Port Hopetoun, the eastern terminal of the Union Canal at Lothian Road in Edinburgh. As boat traffic decreased, Port Hopetoun was abandoned, and the canal shortened to its current terminus at Lochrin Basin.
During 2019 the bridge’s lifting mechanism was upgraded, when an internal inspection revealed that essential work was required to keep it operational. The £350,000 needed for the work was awarded through Sustrans Scotland’s National Cycle Network Development programme, funded by Scottish Government. The bridge is for pedestrians and cyclists. A lattice girder footbridge allows access across the canal when the bridge’s wooden deck is raised for boats.
Red Wheel plaques denote sites that are important to transport heritage. They’re awarded by the National Transport Trust which promotes and encourages the permanent preservation of transport items of historical or technical interest. Other Red Wheel awards in Scotland include Glasgow’s Queen Street Station, opened in 1842, and the Edinburgh & Dalkeith Railway (known as the Innocent line) which was opened in 1831.
Find out more about the award at transportheritage.com