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All the United Kingdom Scotland Dundee Tay Bridge Memorial
AO Edited

Tay Bridge Memorial

Dedicated to one of the nation's worst engineering disasters.

Dundee, Scotland

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SEANETTA ALLSASS
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Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Rail Bridge taken from train   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Funeral Card , National Museum of Scotland   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge from north.   Creator:Great Britain. Board of Trade
Fallen girders Tay Bridge.   Creator:Great Britain. Board of Trade
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Tay Bridge Memorial   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Auchtermuchty Cemetery, Fife   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Northern expanse of rail bridge.   SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Dundee is Scotland's fourth-largest city, and at one time it was one of the richest boroughs in all of Europe. It's located along the shores of the country's largest river, the Firth of Tay. Spanning this waterway for over two miles is the Tay Railway Bridge, once one of the longest railway bridges in the world. The original railway line was designed by the Scottish engineer Thomas Bouch and was opened in June 1878.

A little over a year later on the night of December 28t, 1879, the central span collapsed due to gale-force winds. This plunged several railway cars into the freezing water below. This event became known as the Tay Bridge Disaster, it was one of the nation's worst engineering accidents.

Dedicated in December 2013, two identical memorials were erected on either side of the Tay. The memorials are marked with the words, “those known to have died,” with an alphabetical list of 59 names. This number has been disputed, with the tally estimated to be in the hundreds. 

After the accident and official investigation, the locomotive engine, Number 224, was recovered, dried out, and reconditioned in Glasgow. It was put back into service for another 45 years. The railwaymen gave it the nickname “The Diver.”

Bouch would die within a few months of the completion of the inquiry. 

The memorials read: “Deep waters can not douse, The enduring flame, That burned for those thus blighted, Now let them stand as one, Properly remembered, And in part, righted.”

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The memorial on the southern side is located near the village of Newport on Tay. A short distance from here, a walk along loose gravel, will take one to the remains of the original Tay Bridge. This is only accessible at low tide.

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Robert Thomson

  • Robert Thomson

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May 13, 2022

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Tay Bridge Memorial
8 Tay St, Newport-on-Tay DD6 8AG
Dundee, Scotland
United Kingdom
56.44068, -2.941197

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