On 28 December, 1879, the 13 raised spans at the centre of the Tay Bridge, the high girders, fell, taking with them 160 yards of the bridge, and a railway train with 75 men, women and children on board. This tragically ended the dream of Thomas Bouch, recently knighted for his work on the bridge, and to some extent the unparalleled reputation of British engineering in works of this kind. This book tells the story of the construction of the Tay Bridge from its planning, through its brief moment of triumph followed by disaster and the grim aftermath. It recreates every character and ingredient of this man-made catastrophe, and evokes the drama of the fatal night.