Tay Bridge, Dundee - Ref: WC1652
Photograph from the Alexander Wilson Collection.
On Sunday 28 December 1879 the 5.27 train left Burntisland for Dundee. By early evening, a violent storm was sweeping down the Tay. Just after 7pm, the train reached the bridge at the height of the storm. A few minutes later, the train and all passengers were at the bottom of the river.
The 2nd Tay Bridge was opened on 11 July 1887 and the Forth Bridge opened in 1890. The 2nd Tay Bridge was of a more robust structure and carried a double track. The old pillars were demolished and their stumps can still be seen.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.