Tay Rail Bridge of Dundee "in respect of his meritorious services as engineer of the bridge. ..." On 20 June 1879, Queen Victoria crossed the bridge during her return south from staying at Balmoral; Bouch was presented to her before she did so. On 26 June 1879, he was knighted by the Queen at Windsor Castle. On the night of 28 December 1879 at 7.15 pm, the bridge collapsed after its central spans gave way during high winter gales. A train with six carriages carrying seventy-five passengers and crew, crossing at the time of the collapse, plunged into the icy waters of the
Tay Rail Bridge to provide a bed for the girders to provide for substantial pier that took much of its weight away from the basal area. Since the Second Tay Bridge's completion, the lattice girder arrangement has become a commonplace feature, near-universally adopted for bridge construction. The configuration provides for a high levels of compression strain despite the girders being comparatively light. The decking is composed of steel and is surrounded both sides of the bridge by a closely knit latticework, which functions as a wind screen as well as somewhat protecting the workers. On 9 March 1882, the work on the second