Tay Railway Bridge

A rare shopping expedition to Dundee today on what turned out to be a gloriously sunny spring day. On the way back to the car the sky was beautiful, with different shades of blue, grey and white.

You can see the stumps of the original Tay railway bridge, which collapsed on the night of 28 December 1879, 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. All seventy-five were lost.

The 28th December happens to be my birthday, and on each anniversary of the disaster a ghostly, brightly lit train can been seen once more rushing across the Tay Bridge before plummeting into the darkness beneath.