The Fall of the Tay Bridge

by David Swinfen

It took 600 men six years to build and was one of the longest bridges in the world. On its completion in 1878, famous visitors, including the Emperor of Brazil, Prince Leopold of the Belgians and Queen Victoria herself, came to pay homage to this marvel of Victorian engineering. Then, on the night of 28 December 1879, the unthinkable happened. Battered by an apocalyptic storm, the thirteen ‘high girders’ of the rail bridge over the Tay estuary fell headlong into the river below, carrying with them a train and all its passengers and crew. There were no survivors. What caused the fall of the Tay Bridge, and who was really to blame? Returning to the subject since the first edition of The Fall of the Tay Bridge in 1994, David Swinfen has meticulously analysed new evidence and now presents a solution to the riddle which has perplexed historians and engineers for what really brought the bridge down?

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[J MCLEOD]

Good recount and full references .

I found nothing new as to the reason for failure although I enjoyed the read. Two comments would be that Bill Dow' s theory also suggested that the curved roof of light carriage would have aided its derailment and backed up by the heavier van behind could have caused a significant shock wave down to the ( brittle ) cast iron columns.
Also,with regard to the comical holes in the castings, in my experience, these always occur in any cored holes in a moulding - iron or plastic - and should be drilled/ reamed to finished diameter. Using undersize bolts would mean they fitted on a very small "land" at the narrow end of the tapered hole which would,very quickly wear out.

[Sue Law]

A short, but excellent book on the Tay Bridge disaster, with enough technical detail to satisfy but not too much to lose non-technical readers.
Swinfen starts with the testimony of those who "witnessed" the disaster on the night of 28 Dec 1879 (as much as anyone could witness an event a mile away in the dark in the middle of a howling gale). The next section (multiple chapters) gives the background to, and actual construction of the bridge. The third section covers the disaster response and Court of Enquiry. Swinfen then looks at the different theories and their common factor - the lugs supporting the cross-bracing. The last chapter looks at the redesign and construction of the new bridge.
Well worth it.

[Catherine Buchan]

This was an okay read but I have given it only two stars because I think the blurb is misleading. It suggests Swinfen, an engineer, has uncovered new evidence and in the book he will reveal the real reasons the bridge fell.

I have read several accounts of the Tay Bridge disaster and I could see no new evidence in this account. One comment that it "deserves to be regarded as the final word on the subject" is not supported by the content. I prefer the detail in the account by Peter Lewis. So, overall disappointing.

[Jazza1971]

A short but concise and readable book on Tay Rail Bridge disaster.
Living in the North East of Scotland I have often travelled on the replacement rail bridge, looking at the stumps of the collapsed bridge out the window and was keen to find out more. One thing I did find out was that many of the 72 undamaged girders salvaged from the collapsed bridge were used to build the current one...which will be food for thought the next time I make the crossing!