On the 28th of December 1879, a train was coming from Edinburgh travelling through a storm that was wrecking havoc all along the banks of the Firth of Tay River. The rain beat against the windows like thrown pebbles and the wind screaming with defiance blew hard against the carriages at times tilting them fractionally so their wheels lifted ever so slightly with the force of the wind.

As the train rattled onto the bridge, the passengers must have been worried whether they were going to get across the river and they all sat in their seats huddled together expecting the worst.

About half way across the bridge there was a large bang with showers of sparks hurtling into the air, then a ferocious roar as the engine and carriages along with the support beams tumbled into the river Tay leaving nothing but the bottom of the pylons protruding out of the water.

It seems to me that there could have been many reasons as to why the bridge went down on that cold fateful night . It could have been a number of related events that lead to the train and bridge falling into the icy river,drowning at least sixty people who were locked inside their carriage compartments by the guard at every station. There was no chance to escape the perilious waters of the Tay when the train plummeted off the bridge ,taking with it the collapsed bridge support columns but it was mainly due to these frightening events.

a vertical waveform, progressively amplified by the various forces in play that night, effectively shook the bridge apart, somewhat in the manner of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse of the 1930s.

a carriage was derailed by the wind and an axle hit a buttress on one pillar of the high girders, thus sending a shockwave vertically down a supporting pillar of the bridge

the force of the wind on the bridge set up a domino effect whereby, one after the other, the upper courses of masonry on the bridge piers became detached from the lower courses, thus irretrievably tilting the bridge downwind.

After the bridge went down , a guard from the Dundee side of the line raced along the track through the torrental rain and howling wind to the entrance of the bridge. Because the visibility was poor, he was not sure what had happened and seeing a rail light into the distance, he assumed that the train had not yet entered onto the bridge. However, mailbags began rising to the surface ,bobbing up and down like corks set adrift and he realized his gravest fears , that the train had plunged into the Tay river.

The Tay river was swollen at this time ,about 45feet in depth, the carriages and bridge supports sinking to the bottom like stones, which was going to make rescue absolutely impossible.

There were seventy five lives lost that fateful night and to this day it is the worst rail disaster in british history

The bridge built by Sir Thomas Bouch 19 months earlier february 1878 and was claimed to be the longest bridge in the world . It was two miles long consisting of 85 spans and was made up of steel lattice and cast iron supports. Sir thomas Bouch was knighted for his work on the bridge but not only did he lose his son inlaw who was on the train at the time, but he was debunked over the affair and died a broken man some six months later.

THE COURT FINDINGS

There was clear evidence that the central structure had been deteriorating for months before the final accident. The maintenance inspector, Henry Noble, had heard the joints of the wrought-iron tie-bars "chattering" a few months after the bridge opened in June 1878, a sound indicating that the joints had loosened. This made many of the tie-bars useless for bracing the cast-iron piers. Noble did not attempt to re-tighten the joints, but hammered shims of iron between them in an attempt to stop the rattling.

The problem continued until the collapse of the high girders. It indicated that the centre section was unstable to lateral movement, something observed by painters working on the bridge in the summer of 1879. Passengers on north-bound trains complained about the strange motion of the carriages, but this was, apparently, ignored by the bridge's owners, the North British Railway. The Lord Provost of Dundee had reportedly timed trains on the bridge, and found they were travelling at about 40 mph (64 km/h), well in excess of the official limit of 25 mph (40 km/h).

Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

'Twas about seven o'clock at night,
And the wind it blew with all its might,
And the rain came pouring down,
And the dark clouds seem'd to frown,
And the Demon of the air seem'd to say-
"I'll blow down the Bridge of Tay."

When the train left Edinburgh
The passengers' hearts were light and felt no sorrow,
But Boreas blew a terrific gale,
Which made their hearts for to quail,
And many of the passengers with fear did say-
"I hope God will send us safe across the Bridge of Tay."

But when the train came near to Wormit Bay,
Boreas he did loud and angry bray,
And shook the central girders of the Bridge of Tay
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

So the train sped on with all its might,
And Bonnie Dundee soon hove in sight,
And the passengers' hearts felt light,
Thinking they would enjoy themselves on the New Year,
With their friends at home they lov'd most dear,
And wish them all a happy New Year.

So the train mov'd slowly along the Bridge of Tay,
Until it was about midway,
Then the central girders with a crash gave way,
And down went the train and passengers into the Tay!
The Storm Fiend did loudly bray,
Because ninety lives had been taken away,
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

As soon as the catastrophe came to be known
The alarm from mouth to mouth was blown,
And the cry rang out all o'er the town,
Good Heavens! the Tay Bridge is blown down,
And a passenger train from Edinburgh,
Which fill'd all the peoples hearts with sorrow,
And made them for to turn pale,
Because none of the passengers were sav'd to tell the tale
How the disaster happen'd on the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember'd for a very long time.

It must have been an awful sight,
To witness in the dusky moonlight,
While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray,
Along the Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay,
Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay,
I must now conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,