Construction & Industry Rubislaw Quarry is Britains the deepest quarry (142 m) and one of the biggest man-made holes in Europe. It closed in 1971 and is now partly filled with water. Wanlockhead Mines, in Dumfries and Galloway, possesses one of the greatest variety of minerals in Europe (lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold). Its gold is amongst the worlds purest, at 22.8 carats, and was used to make the Scottish Crown Jewels, the oldest royal regalia amongst Europes surviving monarchies. Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It was first mentioned in a letter from Saint Patrick to Ceretic Guletic, King of Alt Clut (present-day Dumbarton), in the 5th century, although the settlement dates back to well over 2,000 years. The Bell Rock Lighthouse, built off the coast of Angus between 1807 and 1810, is the worlds oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse. Erected in 1812, the Laigh Milton Viaduct, near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, is the oldest surviving railway viaduct in Scotland, and one of the oldest in the world. It was used by the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway, Scotlands first public railway and the first to use a steam locomotive. The Ballochmyle Viaduct is the highest extant railway viaduct in Britain. When it was completed in 1848, it boasted the worlds longest masonry arch (55m / 181 ft) of any railway bridge. The bridge featured in the 1996 film Mission Impossible starring Tom Cruise. William Denny and Brothers of Dumbarton and John Brown and Company of Clydebank were two of the most internationally renowned shipbuilding companies in the world from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. They built world-famous ships, such as the Cutty Sark (the second fastest clipper of all time), the TS King Edward (the first passenger steamer powered by turbines), the RMS Lusitania (the fastest ship of its time), the HMS Hood (the worlds biggest warship for 20 years after being launched), the HMS Repulse (the worlds fastest capital ships upon completion), the RMS Queen Mary, the RMS Queen Elizabeth (the largest passenger liner ever built until 1994), and the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. Clydebank used to be the greatest shipyard in the world. The Cathedral of the Isles in Millport, Cumbrae, is Britains smallest extant cathedral and Europes second smallest. Established by James Young in 1852, Bathgate Chemical Works in West Lothian was the worlds first oil refinery. From 1865 to 1880, Youngs Paraffin Light and Mineral Oil Company was the world largest oil producer. The Thermopylae, an extreme composite clipper ship built in 1868 by Walter Hood & Co of Aberdeen, is the fastest sailing boat ever built. Upon its completion in early 1878 the Tay Rail Bridge was the longest in the world, but was destroyed by a storm in December 1879. The second Tay Bridge, opened in 1887, was slightly longer, with a length of 4,500 m (14,800 ft), and remained the longest bridge in the world until 1903. is still Britains longest bridge. The Forth Railway Bridge, opened in 1890, was the worlds first major steel bridge. With a main span of 521 m (1,710 ft) and a total length of 2,529 m (8,296 ft), it is the second longest cantilever bridge in the world after Pont de Québec in Canada. When it was completed, the Forth Bridge was three times longer than any other bridge ever built. Mount Stuart, family seat of the Marqueses of Bute, contains the worlds first indoor heated swimming pool. It was also the first house in Scotland to be lit by electricity. Marischal College in Aberdeen is the second largest granite building in the world after the royal residence and monastery of El Escorial near Madrid. The Dounreay Nuclear Power Station, in Caithness, became the worlds first operational fast breeder reactor in 1957. The 112 metre-long transparent underwater viewing tunnel at Deep Sea World at North Queensferry, in Fife, is the longest of its kind in Europe, and one of the longest in the world. Glasgow Tower, completed in 2001, is the tallest tower in the world (127 m / 417 ft) in which the whole structure is capable of rotating 360 degrees. Opened in 2002, the Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and is regarded as an engineering landmark for Scotland.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 11:43:44 +0000
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