Dr Denis Smith of Kirkcaldy Museum explains how the museum led an enquiry and discovered the bridge was poorly designed and constructed. A last minute alteration to the bridge is also investigated.

The Open University

On December 28th 1879, the Tay Bridge collapsed as a train passed over it, killing all 75 passengers on board.  At the time of this tragedy, the Tay Bridge was the longest bridge in the world, and to this day the accident remains the worst structural disaster the UK has ever seen. This album attempts to unlock the mystery of this catastrophe, through several plausible explanations and expert opinions. This material forms part of the course T173 Engineering the future.

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