10 Unusual Facts You Didn’t Know About The Tay Bridge Disaster
1. The Engine Was Salvaged And Went On To Serve For A Further 45 Years
Engine 224 was a steam engine based at Dundee and on the 28th December 1879 it was called upon to serve the 1:30pm mail train from Dundee to Burtisland. The southbound crossing went without an issue but on the trains return journey disaster struck. At roughly 7.15pm, Engine 224 led its doomed train onto the Tay Bridge never to reach the other side. When the engine was discovered in the river, it gave some critical insight into the nature of the accident. The engines brakes had not been applied and the regulator remained open which showed that the driver had not seen the disaster coming.
After two failed attempts to raise it, engine 224 was successfully salvaged from the Tay in April 1880 and sent for repairs. Once repaired, the engine returned to service pulling passenger trains and become known amongst railway workers as ‘The Diver’. Train drivers became reluctant to take the train across the new Tay Bridge believing it to be unlucky or a bad omen. However, on the 29th anniversary of the disaster, the engine was used to serve the exact same route as it had that fateful night making the crossing to Dundee across the new Tay Bridge.
Thankfully it did not live up to its name and this second crossing remained completely dive free.