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Tay bridge
Tay bridge. The wide estuary of the river Tay on the east coast of Scotland presented a formidable obstacle to transport. The first bridge over the estuary was designed by Thomas Bouch for the North British Railway Company. It was almost 2 miles long, consisting of 85 wrought-iron lattice-girder spans supported on cast-iron columns with masonry foundations, and was completed in 1877. Queen Victoria crossed it in the summer of 1879, and knighted its designer on the spot. But at the end of that year, on 28 December 1879, several spans collapsed in a severe storm while a train was crossing, sending 74 people to their deaths. The subsequent inquiry concluded that the bridge was ‘badly designed, badly constructed and badly maintained’, and found Bouch mainly responsible for these defects. The disaster alarmed the engineering profession and ensured that the replacement bridge was built within ample safety margins. A new road bridge was opened over the estuary in 1966.
R. Angus Buchanan |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Tay bridge." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Tay bridge." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Taybridge.html JOHN CANNON. "Tay bridge." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Taybridge.html |
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Tay bridge
Tay bridge The wide estuary of the river Tay on the east coast of Scotland presented a formidable obstacle to transport. The first bridge over the estuary was designed by Thomas Bouch for the North British Railway Company. It was almost 2 miles long and was completed in 1877. Queen Victoria crossed it in the summer of 1879, and knighted its designer on the spot. But at the end of that year, on 28 December 1879, several spans collapsed in a severe storm while a train was crossing, sending 74 people to their deaths. The subsequent inquiry concluded that the bridge was ‘badly designed, badly constructed and badly maintained’. A new road bridge was opened over the estuary in 1966.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Tay bridge." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Tay bridge." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Taybridge.html JOHN CANNON. "Tay bridge." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Taybridge.html |
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