The Disaster That Made the Forth Bridge Absurdly Overbuilt

Sources for this episode are listed below. Builder's Plate is researched and written by its creator. On 28 December 1879 the Tay Bridge fell in a gale and took a train with it. At least 59 people died. Ten years later the Forth Bridge opened, built for a wind its own engineers said would never come. We read the inquiry report, the 1881 rule and the builders' own words to find out why. CHAPTERS 0:00 The overbuilt bridge 1:47 What did the inquiry find? 5:18 Where did "ten pounds" come from? 8:53 How hard does the wind really push? 11:05 Who sets the number now? 13:50 Why build for a wind you don't believe in? 19:55 What did the margin cost? 22:41 So is it overbuilt? SOURCES Tay Bridge Disaster: Report of the Court of Inquiry, and Report of Mr. Rothery (HMSO, 1880): https://archive.org/details/pp1260348... Board of Trade wind-pressure committee report, 20 May 1881, in Van Nostrand's Engineering Magazine vol. 25 (Nov 1881) B. Baker, The Forth Bridge (British Association, Montreal, 1884): https://archive.org/details/cihm_00842 W. Westhofen, The Forth Bridge (Engineering, 1890): https://archive.org/details/forthbrid... G. B. Airy, "On the Proposed Forth Bridge", Nature, 19 Oct and 7 Dec 1882: https://archive.org/details/paper-doi... · https://archive.org/details/paper-doi... B. Baker, reply to Airy, Nature, 4 Jan 1883: https://archive.org/details/paper-doi... "The Opening of the Forth Bridge", Nature, March 1890 (quoting The Times): https://archive.org/details/paper-doi... Victims of the Tay Bridge disaster: National Records of Scotland (ScotlandsPeople), "Tay Bridge Disaster" Modern figures (steel, rivets, 73 workers named): The Forth Bridges, theforthbridges.org; UNESCO decision 39 COM 8B.33 (2015) IMAGES (all public domain or CC0; each is credited on screen; full list in the pinned comment) UK Board of Trade, Tay Bridge inquiry photographs (1880); W. Westhofen, The Forth Bridge (1890); Philip Phillips, construction photographs (1886–87); Rijksmuseum (CC0); Library of Congress (Forth Bridge photochrom, Airy lithograph, The Skyscrapers of New York, 1906); Nature, Van Nostrand's Engineering Magazine and B. Baker (1884) via archive.org; Illustrated London News; Wikimedia Commons Map data: Natural Earth (public domain) Music: "Singularity" and "False Vacuum Decay" by The Grey Room / Density & Time (YouTube Audio Library; no attribution required) ABOUT THIS VIDEO Archival images are public domain or used under the licences listed above. Builder's Plate tells the stories of the forgotten machines, materials, methods and people that built the modern world, from the original drawings, patents and reports. Spotted an error? Leave a comment with a source and we will pin the correction. #ForthBridge #TayBridge #EngineeringHistory