Firth of Forth ... and Elsewhere?

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Constructions

Granton and Burntisland

"Piers were constructed at Granton and Burntisland Harbours, each 5 ft above Spring High Tides.  On the eastern side of each pier was a slipway of gradient '1 in 6' .

Heavy travelling platforms 65ft long and 21ft broad were laid on four balks of timber 14ins square, on the slipways, to enable railway wagons to be loaded and unloaded onto the ferries at different states of the tide, without the use of cranes."

The Service

"The Leviathan makes 4 or 5 double trips o a day and it can take from 30 to 34 wagons at a time.  The time occupied in making the single trip is about 26 minutes and the operation of loading and unloading takes an additional 5, or 8, minutes.

During the six months from Feb 1st to July 31st 1860, the number of trips made was 1,546, equal to 8,503 miles and the number of waggons carried was 32,712.

The rate for the carriage of minerals and other heavy goods is one shilling per ton.  The opening of this work has been the means of introducing into Edinburgh the coal from Fife which before was unknown in this market."

Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineers:  1036 - 16 April 1861