Panel stitched by:
Fifan Leddies
Margaret Caldwell
Jennifer di Folco
Margaret Ewan
Stitched in:
Burntisland, Anstruther
Railways were built in Scotland from the 1830s onwards but, for some time, there was no network. The earliest were industrial, transporting coal and other raw materials between Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh. But, by 1842, investment was pouring in as the Edinburgh to Glasgow line opened and the Caledonian Company linked with the English rail network at Carlisle in 1848. Its great rival was the North British Railway and, in order to challenge and dominate the lines in the east of Scotland, it had to build bridges. The first spanned the Firth of Tay and opened in 1878 only to collapse a year later in a storm with the loss of 75 lives. The Forth Bridge was deliberately designed to look much stronger and it is the first structure in the world to be built of steel. Opened in 1890, its elegant cantilever construction has become an icon and, in any competition to decide the most famous manmade structure in Scotland, the Forth Bridge would surely win. Its completion opened up the north of Scotland to rapid rail travel. Contrary to popular belief, the bridge does not need constant repainting. A contract was completed in 2011 that should ensure that no repainting is needed until 2046 at the earliest.
Panel stitched by:
Fifan Leddies
Margaret Caldwell
Jennifer di Folco
Margaret Ewan
Stitched in:
Burntisland, Anstruther