Tay Rail Bridge with fast-running tides. Tay Rail Bridge The Tay Bridge carries the railway across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is . It is the second bridge to occupy the site. Plans for a bridge over the Tay to replace the train ferry service emerged in 1854 but the first Tay Bridge did not open until 1878. It was a lightweight lattice design of relatively low cost with a single track. On 28 December 1879, the bridge suddenly collapsed in high winds. The incident is one of the greatest bridge-related
Tay Rail Bridge raised and put before a select committee of the House of Commons on 10 May 1881. With little alteration or suggestions issued, this was soon passed. During November 1881, a contract for the new bridge's construction was awarded to Messrs William Arrol & Co of Glasgow. For the new bridge's design, Messrs Barlow elected to refrain from using any untested engineering principles, instead choosing to strictly adhere to established methodology. The second Tay Bridge is a straightforward pier-and-lattice girder bridge; aside from its considerable length, it lacks any distinguishing characteristics. It has an overall length of 10,780 feet, which is