{"product_id":"the-high-girders-the-story-of-the-tay-bridge-disaster-1879-9780436386039","title":"The High Girders: The story of the Tay Bridge Disaster, 1879","description":"\u003cp\u003eBritish engineering feats in the nineteenth century were among the wonders of the world. But there were many sceptics when, in 1870, the North British Railway Company obtained the assent of Parliament to the construction of a great bridge two miles long over the estuary of the River Tey-the widest span over water ever yet attempted. All the greater therefore was the rejoicing when, eight years later, the first train passed safely across. Shortly afterwards the Queen, who had herself crossed the bridge in the Royal Train, bestowed a knighthood on the designer, Sir Thomas Bouch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then on the night of Sunday, December 28, 1879, in a high gale, the central span, known as \"the High Girders\", collapsed, taking with it an engine, six coaches and seventy-five passengers into the boiling waters of the Tay 160 feet beneath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMr. Prebble tells the whole story from its beginning, through the long years and incidental disasters of construction, to the brief months of triumph and on to the grim aftermath. In the telling he gives a fascinating picture of every ingredient of this man-made disaster; above all, Mr. Prebble re-creates magnificently the drama of the fatal night.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy the bridge fell, the inquiry made clear. It was faulty in design and in construction and the responsibility was that of one man, Sir Thomas Bouch, a tragic figure who destroyed himself by reaching beyond his abilities. Exactly how it fell was never proved. Watchers from the Dundee bank saw three flashes of flame through the inky darkness. Minutes later the moon broke through the clouds and where the high girders had been there was a yawning gap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardback with dust jacket, 14x22cm, 219 pages, black \u0026amp; white photographs\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good\/Very Good\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Martin Secker \u0026 Warburg\/BCA","offers":[{"title":"Secondhand (282)","offer_id":57503320146303,"sku":"9780436386039","price":7.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1910\/7111\/files\/9780436386039.jpg?v=1778582010","url":"https:\/\/rail-books.co.uk\/products\/the-high-girders-the-story-of-the-tay-bridge-disaster-1879-9780436386039","provider":"Rail Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}