after it had opened. William Arrol was awarded the contract for the new bridge. Construction of the new Tay Bridge was started in 1882 and it opened in 1887. Almost simultaneously, William Arrol was also working on the Forth Bridge. Construction began in 1882 and when it was opened in 1890 it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world. William Arrol’s commitment to these two bridges was rewarded with a knighthood: Sir William Arrol & Company Ltd was incorporated in June 1893. The completion of the two Scottish bridges gave Sir William Arrol an international reputation and in the succeeding years bridges were built around Great Britain, Europe and as far as Australia. Perhaps the best known was London’s Tower Bridge opened in 1894, where Sir William Arrol erected all the steel work. Diversification The development of Dalmarnock Works to cope with Arrol’s increased business involved the construction of new buildings with large spans and roofs of steel and glass which let in light throughout the building. Their size allowed the installation of large overhead cranes with up to 100 tons lifting capacity. This became an activity in its own right as similar buildings were constructed for other companies. Also arising out of Dalmarnock Works and bridgebuilding were cranes. particularly for shipbuilding; they had a loading capacity ranging from five to 150 tons. The most famous crane. the largest of its time, is the Titan Crane completed in 1907; a gigantic cantilever crane of 150-ton capacity. for John Brown & Company. With this increased range of activity, the Dalmarnock Works occupied 17 acres and employed 2000 men plus thousands more working on outside contracts. Sir William died in 1913 but the Company continued as an independent entity until 1969. Notable projects Bridges Bridges built by the company include: Caledonian Railway Bridge across the River Clyde completed in 1878 Tay Rail Bridge completed in 1887 Forth Bridge completed in 1890 Tower Bridge in London completed in 1894 North Bridge in Edinburgh completed in 1897 Redheugh Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne completed in 1901 Connel Bridge completed in 1903 Nile Bridge at Cairo completed in 1908 Tees Transporter Bridge completed in 1911 Warrington Transporter Bridge completed in 1916 Keadby Bridge completed in 1916 Southwark Bridge in London completed in 1921 White Cart Bridge completed in 1923 Jubilee Bridge (Walney) completed in 1908 Jubilee Bridge (Queensferry) completed in 1927 Corporation