History of the Forth Crossing

It is possible that a boat bridge made of around 500 boats across the Forth could have been constructed by Septimius Severus and his son Caracalla during their campaign in Scotland c. 208.[1] Divided in the middle by Inchgarvie, a 1.25 miles (2.01 km) bridge made of boats secured to long mooring ropes was within the capabilities of the Romans at the time, and with several tens of thousands of men campaigning north of the river such an investment may have been worthwhile.[1] Whilst there is no evidence of such a bridge being built at Queensferry, the Romans are known to have built such bridges elsewhere.[1][2]

A regular service is known to have crossed at Queensferry as early as the 12th century, using a series of natural rock landings west of Queensferry Harbour.[3] Small permanent structures existed at both sides of the crossing by 1710, but by 1760 these were considered inadequate for the most trafficked ferry passage in Scotland.[3] A 1772 petition to the Forfeited Estates Commission from an unknown engineer requested GB£980 for improvements, who in turn consulted civil engineer John Smeaton.[3] Smeaton considered the largely natural landings to be the greatest issue, especially at low water, and recommended an increased number of landings in order to prevent boats having to tack, as well as specific improvements to existing piers.[4] By July 1777, the Royal Burghs of Scotland had given GB£300 and the Forfeited Estates Commission GB£600, the latter on the basis of its importance as a military route.[4] The Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufactures and Improvements in Scotland also contributed to the repair of two piers.[5]

John Rennie the Elder made improvements worth GB£34,000 to a number of piers by 1812, and further works were carried out when expenditure of GB£20,000 was authorised in 1814.[6] The harbour at South Queensferry was brought to its present form by an 1817 plan from Hugh Baird, who turned the west pier at a right angle to further enclose the harbour.[5][7]

Robert Stephenson was called by the ferry superintendent in 1817 to advise on how to furnish the passage with lighting.[8]

In September 1819, a steamboat started operation at the "Broad Ferry" between Newhaven and Dysart, resulting in the Queensferry Passage losing two-thirds of its traffic by the autumn of 1820.[8] The design of the piers and the fast-flowing tides made the Queensferry crossing unsuitable for steamboats, but a paddle steamboat named the Queen Margaret was entered service in 1821 to tow sailing boats.[8] Only the southern landing at Longcraig Pier could accommodate it, and because of the protruding paddles it could not load wheeled cargo.[8] In that same year a fleet of sailing boats was introduced, but despite the efficiency of the operation, it could not compete with the Broad Ferry and in 1828 the Trustees consulted with engineer Thomas Telford with a view to making improvements.[8]

Bridges were possibly proposed as early as 1740 or 1758, but no records have been found.[1] The materials available at the time, namely stone and wood, offered a limited maximum span of around 30 metres, making construction of such bridges in deep water unfeasible.[1] After Henry Cort invented puddling in 1783 as a method of producing large quantities of high-quality iron, such bridges could again be considered.[1] Scotland had four wrought-iron footbridges by 1817, with the longest spanning a distance of 261 feet (80 m).[1]

In 2007, in a two-week trial jointly funded by SEStran and Stagecoach, a passenger hovercraft ran between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh,[20] but Stagecoach have indicated that they are not interested in developing this into a service.[21]

The new Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail link diverted coal trains away from the bridge. Instead they travel via Stirling to Longannet Power Station. Freight restrictions may then be lifted, with the potential of increasing the number of trains from 10 tph (trains per hour) to 12.