William Arrol was born in 1839 in Houston, Renfrewshire, near Glasgow (not Texas!). His father was a spinner, and William started work at a cotton mill when he was nine years old! At thirteen he trained as a blacksmith and later learned mechanics and hydraulics at night school. At 29 he started his own business making boilers in Glasgow and went on to build the Dalmarnock Ironworks in 1871. He built two bridges over the River Clyde, and also the reconstructed Tay Bridge in 1882, the same year in which he secured the contract for building the Forth Rail Bridge. Arrol’s fame as a bridge-builder led to him joining the construction team that built Tower Bridge over the Thames in 1886, and he went on to build the Nile Bridge in Cairo and the Hawksbury Bridge in Australia. In 1890 he was knighted, and from 1895 to 1906 he was the Member of Parliament for South Ayrshire. The massive Titan Crane, now a Glasgow icon, was built in 1907, and the Arrol Gantry was constructed for Harland & Wolff in Belfast to build the Atlantic super-liners including RMS Titanic. Coming back to the Scottish bridges, there had long been talk about a bridge for road traffic over the River Forth, but it was not until the late 1950’s that planning and construction went ahead and it was finally opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1964. We arrived in Scotland in 2004 and frequently use the bridge to get to
Edinburgh and other destinations to the south. But by this time there were technical worries about its suspension systems as tests on the thousands of steel wires ‘bundled’ inside the massive tubes showed signs of corrosion. Although there was no immediate danger, planning for a ‘Replacement Crossing’ for cars and trucks was rapidly initiated. However, the existing road bridge will continue to be used for buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians. There was a big debate on ‘over’ or ‘under’ solutions to cross the River Forth, but finally it was decided not to use a tunnel but a ‘cablestayed bridge’. Following the selection of contractors, construction started in 2011, and the project is due to be completed by the end of 2016, on time, and under budget! The four-lane motorway will be supported by cables from three slender towers reaching nearly 700 feet above the water level. These towers are already nearly at their full height and with their attendant cranes they make a fascinating sight when floodlit at night. The approach roads at either end are nearing completion and the land supports are already in place. We are looking forward to the grand opening, and less traffic problems! When we got in touch with our daughters’ school friend about Sir William Arrol, we found out that, in addition to his success at bridgebuilding, he was a pioneer in another industry. She mentioned that he was the Chairman and
founding partner in the Arrol-Johnston Car Company, which produced the first automobiles manufactured in Britain and which operated from 1896 to 1931. Their first car was a sixseater ‘dogcart’, a wooden-bodied car with a 10 horsepower engine. The design of later models was improved and they were sold throughout Britain and exported very successfully. On a trip to Canada last year we were delighted to find an Arrol-Johnston car in an automobile museum in Ontario. Some models have been polished up for vintage car parades and even used for weddings. Arrol, one more name to add to the roll of entrepreneurs from north of the Border. INFORMATION – Forth (Rail) Bridge Built by Sir William Arrol & Co. 1882-1890 Length 8,296 ft. Height above highwater 361 ft. Depth below high-water level 91 ft. 200 train movements per day Clearance for ships 150 ft. Steel used – 54,000 tons. Rivets – 7 million INFORMATION – Forth Road Bridge Opened by Queen Elizabeth II Constructed 1958-1964 Total cost £19.5 million Length 2.5 km Height above mean water level 150m Depth below high-water level 32m INFORMATION – Queensferry Crossing Construction started Autumn 2011 Due to be opened during 2016 Estimated cost £1.35bn - £1.4bn Length 1.7miles (2.7km) Height above highwater 207m (683ft) Structural concrete, 150,000 tonnes Structural steel, 30,000 tonnes
Forth Road Bridge (Photo: Clive Willcocks)
Arrol-Johnstone Touring Car (Photo: First Choice Wedding Cars)
Floodlit view of Queensferry Crossing under construction. (Photo: Transport Scotland)
Sir William Arrol
Queensferry Crossing under construction. (Photo: Clive Willcocks)
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American In Britain
Loony Dooking for charity on Hogmanay