Story Contracting, in partnership with Network Rail, was proud to unveil a National Railway Heritage Awards (NRHA) plaque at Forth Viaduct in Stirling recently. The plaque commemorates the award-winning restoration project that has enhanced the viaduct’s structural integrity while preserving its history.
Forth Viaduct, a vital piece of Scotland’s Railway heritage, was recognised for its outstanding restoration at the National Railway Heritage Awards in December 2023.
Works began in January 2022 when engineers erected scaffolding along a 20-metre span of the 10-meter-high bridge. This allowed critical steelwork repairs to take place, including the removal and replacement of 300 steel rivets.
Other elements of work involved grit blasting to remove old paint and rust before metalwork repainting. More than 100 tonnes of grit was used as well as 3000 litres of paint, taking in excess of 6,000 hours to complete the blasting and painting operations.
A new permanent walkway was also installed through the structure to provide access for Network Rail engineers to undertake general maintenance to the viaduct when required.
This restoration project will extend the lifespan of the bridge, ensuring work on this scale won’t be needed for another 25 years. Story Contracting, Network Rail, and their key supply chain partners joined the NRHA team and the category sponsor, Translink, to unveil the plaque on the structure.
Steven McVey, Senior Project Manager – Story Contracting, added: “We are immensely proud to have delivered this award-winning project for Network Rail and to celebrate with our supply chain partners during the plaque unveiling ceremony. Forth Viaduct is a crucial part of our heritage railway infrastructure here in Scotland and I’m thankful to everyone who was involved in its restoration.”
Andy Savage, National Heritage Railway Awards – “The works at Forth Viaduct are a classic example of restoring bridges to get the best out of them, it is a pleasure to see this historic bridge restored and fit for use for several more decades. Congratulations and thank you for expanding the lifespan of this viaduct.”
