Old Photographs Tay Railway Bridge Scotland

Old photograph of a steam train on the Tay Railway Bridge which carries the railway line from Dundee, across the Firth of Tay to Wormit in The Kingdom of Fife, Scotland. The present structure is the second one on this site. On the night of 28 December 1879 at 7.15 pm, the first bridge collapsed after its central spans gave way during high winter gales. A train with six carriages carrying seventy five passengers and crew, crossing at the time of the collapse, plunged into the icy waters of the River Tay. All seventy five were lost. The disaster stunned the whole country and sent shock waves through the Victorian engineering community. The ensuing enquiry revealed that the bridge did not allow for high winds. At the time a gale estimated at force ten or eleven had been blowing down the Tay estuary at right angles to the bridge. The second bridge opened on 20 June 1887 and remains in use.

All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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