Meet the man who runs the world's smallest working 'lighthouse' - which can shine for three miles and is powered by vegetable oil.<br /><br />Garry Irvine looks after the historic 23ft Harbour Light Tower - climbing its 24 steps three times a week.<br /><br />The famous tower replaced an original lighthouse which was constructed across the street in 1811.<br /><br />It provided much-needed light to the well-travelled River Forth in Scotland – but due to its positioning the original light struggled to illuminate the entire crossing.<br /><br />Students then began to work with civil engineer Robert Stevenson with the aim of finding a suitable solution.<br /><br />Stevenson and his team painstakingly constructed the Harbour Light Tower in 1817.<br /><br />It had a new light room which had a better position to illuminate the river – and the Argand lamp from the lighthouse was moved to the new tower.<br /><br />But as railways began to spread across the country the Queensferry Passage became less and less popular.<br /><br />The light tower’s flame finally extinguished in 1890 - after the creation of the Forth Rail Bridge.<br /><br />That was until 2014, when the North Queensferry Heritage Trust were given approval to restore the lamp to full working order.<br /><br />Today, the light tower is both fully functional and a popular tourist spot and museum.<br /><br />It is maintained by retiree and Heritage Trust secretary Garry, who moved to North Queensferry around 40 years ago.<br /><br />Garry has been maintaining the light since retiring ten years ago.<br /><br />He said: “The little light was built in 1811 in the adjoining lighthouse just across the street but it wasn’t doing the job it was needed to do.<br /><br />“With the Queensferry Passage being the most important ferry in Scotland at the time, it meant that the actual ferry passage had to be lit.<br /><br />“They moved the light from the lighthouse over to the little light tower, and that is what we renovated to make it work again.<br /><br />“We built it from an original based in the National Museum of Edinburgh – so we can truly say it’s the only working light tower in the world.”<br /><br />Garry went on to explain how the Argand lamp is able to provide up to three miles worth of light – by using a reflector which magnifies the flame inside 2000 times.<br /><br />“The lamp is driven by oil – originally, it was whale oil, but we don’t use that anymore, so it’s vegetable oil now,” he said.<br /><br />“Lighting the lamp is pretty unique and it requires a bit of manipulation of the lamp.<br /><br />“The lamp is called an Argand lamp, and it was used for most of Robert Stevenson’s lighthouses at the time he was living. <br /><br />“The lightkeepers at the time would climb those 24 steps twice a day – sometimes more when they saw the light was out.<br /><br />“The light can last for about 18 hours with its tank of oil – which is more than sufficient for a cold winters’ day or night.”<br /><br />Garry, who is also an amateur photographer, visits the light room two to three days per week, and has welcomed visitors from over 90 countries to the site.<br /><br />Named after Queen Margaret, who would regularly make the journey through Queensferry, the passage, the location saw around 300 travellers per day – and the light tower now serves as a museum to one of Scotland’s most important crossings.<br /><br />“It was the shortest crossing from Fife to Edinburgh, and it was quite popular – it started the communication and transportation age in Scotland,” said Garry.<br /><br />“If anyone is interested in Stevenson lighthouses, this is a great one to tick off your list.<br /><br />“We can light it by request, and we have signs that give you a little bit of the history.<br /><br />“You can enjoy what many light keepers did, twice a day over hundreds of years – it’s a very enjoyable experience.”
