Scotland's most iconic rail structure, the massive Forth Bridge,is set to be restored to its former glory by 2012, engineers have promised.

The bridge, a symbol of Victorian engineering might for 120 years, is about to have the ultimate, long-lasting paint job.

PAUL WHITING reports on how the bridge over the Firth of Forth is being transformed.

Paint technology perfected for the ferocious weather encountered on North Sea oil rigs is  being used in a £74 million contract to repaint the mighty Forth Bridge in Scotland.

Intensive work on the huge structure which links the East Coast railway between Edinburgh and Fife is now expected to only take until 2012, after which the bridge should not require a major repaint for around 30 years.

More than 500,000 litres of the special glass flake epoxy paint, supplied by Leighs Paints in Bolton, Lancs, will be applied to the one and a quarter-mile long structure, which carries more than 180 passenger and freight trains a day.

Network Rail’s chief executive Iain Coucher announced that work on the bridge would be accelerated by a four-year contract worth £74 million with main contractors Balfour Beatty.

The annual spend of £13 million was being increased to £18.5 million to make long-term financial savings.

“The bridge is a working monument to the genius of British railway engineering,” said Iain Coucher.

“The work will restore the bridge to its original condition and preserve the steelwork for decades.

“The team currently working on the bridge has now completed some of the most difficult work and they have already overcome the most significant challenges that this project posed,” he said.

Marshall Scott, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s regional civil engineering division, said: “The restoration of this remarkable bridge will return it to near pristine condition.”

The company has already been working on repairs and repainting for six years and some of the most difficult challenges have been resolved.

Work on the bridge requires unique skills and work will be concentrated in various phases. The paint chosen will be applied by a company called Pyeroy, whilst abrasive blasting to remove old paintwork will be the work of Palmers. 

SGB will erect the vital scaffolding, which will be screened, and RGB will carry out steel repairs.

One of the biggest jobs before paint can be applied is ridding the bridge of the many layers of paint daubed on the steel structure over the past 120 years.

The new paint – known as Forth Bridge Red – will be applied in three layers over 45 acres of riveted steel. Known to be specially resilient to salt-laden air and spray, similar paint on North Sea rigs has lasted for 20 years.

The bridge is acknowledged as an engineering masterpiece and has become an iconic symbol of Scottish rail travel and of the country itself.

Finished in 1890 by Victorian engineers to span the Firth of Forth, the bridge has been in a state of almost continuous repair ever since, turning the expression ‘it’s like painting the Forth Bridge’ into an analogy for never-ending tasks.