The Forth Bridge is the Scottish bridge opened in 1890 that became an early landmark of steel cantilever design.
It carries railway lines across the Firth of Forth between South Queensferry and North Queensferry. Engineers John Fowler and Benjamin Baker designed its three main cantilever towers and long spans, creating a structure that could be built without relying on a continuous temporary support across the water.
The bridge’s distinctive red-painted steelwork became a defining part of the Scottish landscape. It was built after the collapse of the first Tay Bridge in 1879 encouraged stricter attention to railway-bridge design. The Forth Bridge is often confused with the nearby Forth Road Bridge, opened in 1964, and the Queensferry Crossing, opened in 2017. The railway bridge entered UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2015.