The Tay Rail Bridge Disaster - A Reappraisal Based on Modern Analysis Methods.

Martin, Tony; MacLeod, Iain; Bouch, Sir T

doi:10.1680/icien.1995.27530

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Much has been written from an engineering viewpoint about the construction of the bridge, the circumstances of its fall and the aftermath (see, for example, Prebble 1968;Dow 1989;Swinfen 1994;Martin and Macleod 1995;Lewis and Reynolds 2002). In contrast, however, discussion of the weather of that night is sparse and often anecdotal.…”

Section: The Stormmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bases of some of the surviving steel columns of the bridge were found to have been bent upwards from their brickwork supporting columns, indicating the force of the wind (some had one or two layers of brickwork pulled upwards with them) (Martin and Macleod 1995). It has been suggested that this was a significant feature of the collapse (Martin 2004) and could have been an indication of waterspout activity, or at least the swirling and lifting phenomenon in the wind reported by Buchan (1880) and partially reflected in the broader-scale pressure trends (Table 1).…”

Section: The Stormmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The gusts of up to 80 mph (36 m s -1 ) may have been primarily responsible for the collapse, with the additional effect of the train on the bridge being negligible (Swinfen 1994). More recent analysis (Martin and Macleod 1995) has suggested that there were design flaws in the bridge which made it more likely to collapse, and that Bouch changed his original plans for a more robust structure to save money, a view supported by the court of enquiry after the disaster (Martin 2004). Conversely, Dow (1989) has presented evidence to suggest that it was the train being blown off the rails and against the sides of the high girders which caused the bridge to collapse, a view favoured by Thomas Bouch.…”

Section: Aftermathmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At a length of 3264 m (almost 2 miles) the completed bridge was the world's longest. The highest part (known as the 'high girders') rose 88 ft (c. 26.8 m) above the high water mark (Swinfen 1994;Martin and Macleod 1995). It was the 13 high girders which fell in the storm.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The great storm and the fall of the first Tay Rail Bridge

Burt

2004

Weather

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: The Stormmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Stormmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aftermathmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The great storm and the fall of the first Tay Rail Bridge

Burt

2004

Weather

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Some accidents continue to arouse interest and specialists seek an explication through new knowledge and technology in structural studies. One such modern computer analysis in Martin and MacLeod (1995) of wind loading on the Tay Rail Bridge explains the reasons for its collapse in 1879. In Martin and MacLeod (2004), the suggestion that the collapse of the same bridge resulted from material fatigue failure caused by dynamic load it was rejected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexural Torsional Buckling of a Beam from the Dee Bridge of 1846 - Analytical and Finite Element Analyses

PETROV

2023

EPSTEM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Industrial Revolution in Victorian England was a period marked by rapid development of the machine industry, accompanied by new technologies in metallurgy and a need for transport between economic areas that was fast, cheap and convenient. This is a period when the railway transport arose and in a short time acquired an image familiar to us to this day. Passage of train sets across rivers and hard-to-reach areas requires transport facilities. In this period, an extremely large number of bridges and aqueducts were built, which have different constructive solutions, different technologies are applied and they are made of different materials, depending on the preference of their creator. This paper examines the collapse of one of the beams of the Dee Bridge on 24 May 1847. The analysis carried out shows the irrationality of the cross-sectional dimensions and types of girder supports witch generate large compressive forces in the beam, leading to flexural torsional buckling.

show abstract

Forensic engineering: a reappraisal of the Tay Bridge disaster

Lewis¹,

Reynolds²

2002

Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 shocked the world and led to important changes in bridge design, construction, and inspection. The Court of Inquiry produced its nal report in six months, and condemned the structure for its design and materials defects. However, the court did not specify exactly how the nal collapse of the 'high girders' section occurred on the night of the accident. By reexamining the wealth of evidence surviving from the time, in particular the photographic archive and the court proceedings, we have looked again at the causes of the disaster. Our reappraisal con rms the conclusions of the original inquiry, but it also extends them by suggesting that lateral oscillations were induced in the high girders section of the bridge by trains passing over a slight misalignment in the track. The amplitude of these oscillations grew with time, because joints holding the bridge together were defective, and this in turn resulted in fatigue cracks being induced in the cast iron lugs, which reached criticality on the night of the disaster. Numerous east-west lugs fractured when a local train passed over the bridge in a westerly gale on the evening of 28 December 1879. The express train which followed was much heavier, and the towers in the high girders collapsed progressively as the train was part way over the section. Although wind loads contributed to the disaster, the bridge was already severely defective owing to failure of its most important stabilising elements.

show abstract

The Tay Rail Bridge Disaster - A Reappraisal Based on Modern Analysis Methods.

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

The great storm and the fall of the first Tay Rail Bridge

The great storm and the fall of the first Tay Rail Bridge

Flexural Torsional Buckling of a Beam from the Dee Bridge of 1846 - Analytical and Finite Element Analyses

Forensic engineering: a reappraisal of the Tay Bridge disaster

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About