The Tay Bridge disaster, the visit of the official steamer to the ruins on the night of the disaster. He gap shown in the engraving was occupied by the central raised girders of the bridge, half a mile in length all of which were carried away. The Engineer, Thomas Bouch advocated the need for a bridge crossing the Tay for a number of years before building began in 1873. The bridge was said to be unstable, especially during bad weather. On the 28th December 1879, during a treacherous weather cond