Weekly Photo Challenge: Symbol

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Symbol.”

The Forth Rail Bridge is one of the most recognisable symbols of my home country, Scotland.

• Did you know our banks print their own GBP banknotes which are accepted tender throughout Scotland and often in England too?  The Forth Bridge features on the back of the Bank of Scotland’s 20GBP note.
• The Bridge is the inspiration for the fictional Kincaid bridge in the game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• It features in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film “The Thirty Nine Steps”
• Opened in 1890, 150-200 trains a day cross it
• The Victorian Forth Rail Bridge will outlast the Forth Road Bridge, opened in 1964 and now suffering from corrosion.  The replacement road bridge is currently under construction to the west of the current road bridge and is due to open in 2016..
• When undertaking a seemingly endless task, Scots sometimes liken it to “painting the Forth Bridge”, a reference to days past when painters were continuously employed applying the red oxide paint.  As soon as they finished one end, it was time to return to the start and repaint it all over again (apparently a cycle of 4 years).
• Advances in paint technology mean that one coat every 15 years now suffices.
• The bridge is just under 2.5kms long and the double rail tracks sit 45 metres above the water at high tide
• Since 1991 the bridge has been floodlit.
• Earlier this month the Forth Rail Bridge was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A symbol of Scotland indeed!

My son Cam and I both took photos of the bridge from Dalgety Bay today – his one is much better than mine, so well done Cam and thanks for letting me use your photo!