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The Victoria Swing Bridge is a
The dock upstream from the bridge was begun in 1833, but financial troubles meant it was only finished between 1869 and 1875, and is nearly rectangular with a quayage of and an area of . The bridge was built between 1871 and 1874 to service the new docks. It was engineered by Rendel and Robertson, with J. H. Bostock as resident engineer. McDonald & Grant were contractors for the foundations, and the bridge was built by the Skerne Iron Works. The works cost around .
Until the completion of the
It was long in total, with a clear span of , and a roadway width of . The bridge was constructed from
swing bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then p ...
in Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
History
The dock upstream from the bridge was begun in 1833, but financial troubles meant it was only finished between 1869 and 1875, and is nearly rectangular with a quayage of and an area of . The bridge was built between 1871 and 1874 to service the new docks. It was engineered by Rendel and Robertson, with J. H. Bostock as resident engineer. McDonald & Grant were contractors for the foundations, and the bridge was built by the Skerne Iron Works. The works cost around .
Until the completion of the Kincardine Bridge
The Kincardine Bridge is a road bridge crossing the Firth of Forth from Falkirk council area to Kincardine, Fife, Scotland.
History
The bridge was constructed between 1932 and 1936, to a design by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Consulting Engi ...
, also in Scotland, in 1936, it is thought to have been the longest clear swing bridge span in Britain (The Swing Bridge, River Tyne
The Swing Bridge is a swing bridge over the River Tyne, England, connecting Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, and lying between the Tyne Bridge and the High Level Bridge. It is a Grade II* listed structure.
History
The Swing Bridge stand ...
, completed two years after the Victoria Bridge, has a longer deck span).
After restoration, it was reopened on 22 November 2000 by Eric Milligan, Lord Provost of Edinburgh.
Design
It was long in total, with a clear span of , and a roadway width of . The bridge was constructed from wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
, and weighed , including of timber decking and of kentledge counterweight. The bridge carried two tracks of a dock railway and a road, and there are footpaths on either side outside the truss structure. The tracks and roadway have now been removed, and the bridge has a wooden deck.
The bridge was powered hydraulically by a power station just to the north. It swung to the north, and the space afforded for the counterbalance can still be seen.
It has been succeeded by a new bridge further downstream, which carries a roadway known as Ocean Drive.
References
{{commons category Buildings and structures in Leith Swing bridges in Scotland Bridges in Edinburgh Bridges across the Water of Leith