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 Canal one following the route of the First Tay Canal to Port Elmsley and a second involving a canal cut from Beveridge Bay of Lower Rideau Lake to the Tay River. To the disappointment of the residents of Port Elmsley, the second route was chosen. In 1883, a Federal government order-in-council authorized a contract with A.H. Manning & Macdonald Company for the construction of the Tay Canal. The proposal included deepening the entire system to the required depth; cutting a wide, long canal to Beveridge Bay; building two locks near the south end of the canal cut, each with a lift