Portal:Scotland/Selected article/Week 25, 2008



The Tay Bridge (sometimes unofficially the Tay Rail Bridge) is a railway bridge approximately two and a quarter miles (three and a half kilometres) long that spans the Firth of Tay in Scotland, between the city of Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. As with the Forth Bridge, the Tay Bridge has also been called the Tay Rail Bridge since the construction of a road bridge over the firth, the Tay Road Bridge. The rail bridge replaced an early train ferry.

The original Tay Bridge was constructed in the 19th century. It was designed by noted railway engineer Thomas Bouch, who received a knighthood following the bridge's completion. It was a lattice-grid design, combining cast and wrought iron. The first engine crossed the bridge on September 22, 1877, and upon its completion in early 1878 the Tay Bridge was among the longest in the world. The bridge was opened on June 1, 1878. During a violent storm on the evening of 28 December 1879, the centre section of the bridge, known as the "High Girders", collapsed, taking with it a train that was running on its single track. More than 75 lives were lost, including Sir Thomas' son-in-law. Forty-six of the sixty known victims were found.

A new double-track bridge was designed by William Henry Barlow and built by William Arrol 60 ft (18 m) slightly upstream of, and parallel to, the original bridge. The bridge proposal was formally incorporated in July 1881 and the foundation stone laid on July 6, 1883. Construction involved 25,000 tons of iron and steel, 70,000 tons of concrete, ten million bricks (weighing 37,500 tons) and three million rivets. Fourteen men lost their lives during its construction, mostly due to drowning. The second bridge opened on 13 July 1887 and remains in use today.