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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Iona Young

Incredible Edinburgh footage shows the first trip over the Forth Road Bridge

This is incredible archive footage from the National Library of Scotland of a family's first trip over Forth Road Bridge when it first opened back in 1964.

Before it was replaced in 2017 by the Queensferry Crossing, the slick steel bridge was once the main route for vehicles travelling between Edinburgh and Fife.

The incredible film is a home movie filmed from a car crossing the newly-opened Forth Road Bridge on the way to Edinburgh’s Turnhouse Airport. You can watch the full footage from the National Library of Scotland here.

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The nostalgic footage shows a red car passing across the bridge shortly after it opened in 1964, as it passes towards Edinburgh a number of Scottish Saltire and Royal Banner Flags are lined along the side of the road to celebrate the opening.

The car then passes alongside what was then known as Turnhouse Airport making a stop where you can see a plane coursing along the concrete runway and the Pentland Hills hidden by hazy clouds in the background.

When it first opened the Forth Road Bridge was the four longest suspension bridge in the world with 1006 metres between the two main towers.

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In total, the structure is over 2.5 km long made with a staggering 39,000 tonnes of steel and 125,000 cubic metres of concrete.

There are no toll roads or bridges in Scotland today but up until 2008 you still had to pay £1 to cross the Forth Road Bridge. After years of campaigning by drivers tolls across the country were eventually abolished.

Since the new Queensferry Crossing opened, the Forth Road Bridge is still in use for public transport, emergency service vehicles and a number of other exceptions.

The bridge became a Category A listed structure in 2001.

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