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CLIP 7496

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Building the Forth Bridge - the cantilever principle

Building the Forth Bridge - the cantilever principle
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Key Info
  • Building the Forth Bridge - the cantilever principle
  • Duration: 02:38
  • Leading architectural and historic buildings expert Dan Cruickshank explains how the Forth Rail Bridge was built using the cantilever principle. The construction challenges posed by the Forth Rail Bridge were immense. The spans necessary were almost four times as large as any railway bridge previously built in the UK, which as yet had no cantilever bridges. Dan Cruickshank demonstrates the cantilever principle used to build the bridge, which was opened in 1890 and held the world record for a cantilever bridge until 1917.
  • Credits: ITN Source
  • Subject:

    Construction and The Built Environment

       Topic:

    Methods and Materials

  • Keywords: construct, railway, transport, health, safety, environmental, methods, plant, equipment, civil engineering, structures, safeguarding, iron, aesthetic, economic, modern, types, spanning, science, physics, CBE
Ideas for use in class
  • This clip will support teaching of the unit on Methods and Materials at foundation level, Structures at higher level and Health, Safety and Environmental Influences at advanced level. It provides a good example of a past high profile construction and civil engineering project. Following the clip students could be asked at foundation level to think about different types of bridges and what they are made from; at higher level to carry out an investigation into the differences between a cantilever bridge and a cable-stayed bridge; at advanced level research the cantilever principle and identify other examples of its use in the construction industry.
Background details
  • Clip language : English
  • Aspect ratio : 16x9

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