Tay Rail Bridge, Dundee - Ref: WC1656
Photograph from Alexander Wilson Collection.
Thomas Bouch was born in Thursby, Cumberland in 1822, He gained experience as a civil engineer by working on the construction of railways in the north of England.
In 1849 he moved to Edinburgh to manage Edinburgh and Northern Railway Co but resigned in 1851 to set up as a consultant engineer. In 1854 he put forward schemes for bridging the Forth and Tay but his ideas were not accepted.
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.