The history of the Tay Bridge, Dundee

A key structure in the Scottish railway route, the Tay Bridge brought increased travel and trade opportunities to the east coast of Scotland.

From the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 a new structure emerged which set new standards for bridge building in Britain. 

Railway rivalry

By the 1860s the battle between the Scottish North British and Caledonian railway companies had taken hold. Supremacy in controlling the major routes through Scotland would depend on which company would be first to bridge the River Tay at Dundee. The original Tay Bridge was built by the North British Railway Company. It was designed by Thomas Bouch, a civil engineer. He had built many small branch lines in the north of England and the south east of Scotland.

Design disaster 

A railway bridge across the Tay had widespread support. But from the start, the design was criticised, especially its single track for capacity and stability. As construction began, Bouch had to change his plans. The foundations and bases were redesigned, and the original brick piers were replaced with braced cast iron columns. The number of spans was reduced, making each one wider. Despite ongoing difficulties, the bridge opened with much celebration on May 31, 1878. Within a year, it boosted the fortunes of the North British Railway, Dundee, and towns throughout Fife. Passenger numbers between Dundee and Fife doubled, and freight traffic increased by 40%. However, on the night of December 28, 1879, during a terrible storm, the thirteen central ‘high girders’ of the bridge fell. The Court of Inquiry blamed the design of the bridge for the collapse, placing the responsibility on Thomas Bouch.

From the ashes of the old

After the disaster, both the North British Railway and supporters of the Tay Bridge wanted it rebuilt. The company quickly submitted a Bill to Parliament for rebuilding the old bridge. But since Thomas Bouch was involved, Parliament rejected the Bill. After dismissing Bouch, William Henry Barlow, who had been on the Court of Inquiry, was asked to recommend the best course of action. He suggested building a new double line bridge, completely independent of the old one.

Barlow’s design for the new bridge was influenced by the old one. To meet Board of Trade requirements, the new bridge was built parallel to the old one to keep navigation channels open, and its height was reduced from 88 feet to 77 feet. Like the old bridge, the railway line ran on top of the approach girders and through the high navigation spans. Barlow suggested reusing girders from the old bridge that were unaffected by the collapse. The new bridge was built 60 feet upstream, using the old bridge as staging for construction. The approaches were altered: to the south, branch lines joined on brick arches near Wormitt, and to the north, the curve into Tay Bridge Station (now Dundee) was softened. Stringent tests on weight and wind loading were conducted. Parliament accepted the proposals in October 1881, and William Arrol & Co of Glasgow was appointed contractor.

The new Tay Bridge

The new bridge took just 5 years to build. Thanks in most part to special pontoon equipment with hydraulic legs which were designed by William Arrol. Various arrangements of these hydraulic pontoons were used to sink and construct the brick and concrete foundation columns. As well as to erect the wrought iron piers and move the old girders into position for the new bridge. And finally to erect the new navigation spans. The completed bridge is 10711ft in length. 8396ft of this is in a straight line running virtually north / south across the Tay until it curves eastwards towards Dundee. There are 85 piers; 1-28 forming the south approach, 28-41 the ‘navigation spans’ and 41-85 the north approach. The new Tay Bridge was opened to traffic, without ceremony on 20 June 1887.

Find out more

• Trip over the Tay Bridge (1897)