Plans drawn up in January 1945 have been found in an archive of historical documents. These plans were discovered by engineers working on the design of the proposed Visitors Centre at the Forth Bridge.
Although the plan bears a resemblance to the Sydney Harbour Bridge which was built in 1932 it is almost 3 times bigger and features 110m arches and 70m masonry towers.
The drawing is attributed to the ‘Engineers Department Edinburgh’ and is dated 22 January 1945. The bridge was never built and the plans disappeared in obscurity which suggests that it might have been drawn up as a back-up plan in case the existing bridge was attacked and destroyed during World War II.
This is just speculation, and Network Rail, who own the Forth Bridge and VisitScotland are appealing for anyone with information about the plans to help solve the mystery.
Ian Heigh, a senior project manager for Network Rail, said: “To be honest, even Network Rail’s longest serving railway engineers seem to be a bit perplexed by the true purpose of these proposals. If this bridge had been built, the entire character of the area would have altered, not just the famous landmark. We’d love to know more about these plans, so I’d encourage anyone with more information to get in touch.” Any information can be sent to: info@forthbridgeexperience.com.
The Forth Bridge is now a world heritage site and the proposals for a visitor’s centre ‘The Forth Bridge Experience’ can be seen here.
