The painting of the Forth Bridge, a job that is famously never finished, is about to come to an end.
Network Rail, which manages the bridge, said contractors will leave the iconic structure in December and will not need to paint it again for 25 years.
After 10 years and more than £130m, the bridge will finally be free of scaffolding.
The current contract is due to be completed ahead of schedule on Friday 9 December 2011.
New techniques and products are being hailed for the success of the project.
A 200-strong team has been applying a triple layer of new glass flake epoxy paint, which is similar to that used in the offshore oil industry.
It creates a chemical bond to provide a virtually impenetrable layer to protect the bridge's steel work from the weather.
Matti Watson, a blaster paint supervisor, said it was dangerous work when he started painting the bridge in 1971.
He said: "There were rope cradles when I first started with the pulleys.
"Now it's scaffold, which is probably a lot safer for everybody concerned.
"A bucket and a brush, that's how it was done. A big round brush and a big bucket. You had to carry them wherever you went. There were no safety belts in those days."
The expression "like painting the Forth Bridge" was coined to describe a never-ending job, one which takes so long that when you have finished it, it is time to start again.
Colin Hardie, Balfour Beatty construction superintendent, said that "old cliche" was now over.
"For the first time in the bridge's history there will be no painters required on the bridge. Job done," he said.
David Simpson, Network Rail Scotland's route managing director, said: "Over the last decade, the bridge has been restored to its original condition and its new paint will preserve the steelwork for decades to come."
The bridge, which was built between 1883 and 1890, is 1.5 miles long.
The track is about 150ft above the water level and the bridge reaches 330ft at the tops of the towers.
The steel structure contains more than 6.5 million rivets.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-e ... e-14789036
The end comes Forth.
The end comes Forth.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: The end scomes Forth.
We need that technology for Sydney as well. The Habour Bridge is in a constant state of 'Wet Paint'.
Bah!
Re: The end comes Forth.
It is newly painted in what some see as a rather mundane shade of ochre - but yesterday Mother Nature decided that the Forth Bridge deserved better.
In a trice the heavens opened up and suddenly the world's most distinctive rail bridge was bathed in all the bright colours of the rainbow. It was the ideal backdrop for the bridge, standing in all its glory - free of scaffolding for the first time in ten years.
It was also a historic moment for the team of 200 workmen carrying out what was known as the world's longest paint job.
For the first time since 1890 they could lay down their brushes, knowing they won't have to start all over again on Monday.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1esYm9VsT
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: The end comes Forth.
Lovely shot!
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: The end comes Forth.
The article said that because of the type of paint being used, it won't need to be repainted for 25 years.