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The High Girders
'A tale of irresponsibility and inexperience' THE TIMES
'Graphically written with a sense of dramatic construction' SCOTSMAN
On December 28th 1879, the night of the Great Storm, the Tay Bridge collapsed, along with the train that was crossing, and everyone on board...
This is the true story of that disastrous night, told from multiple viewpoints:
The station master waiting for the train to arrive - who sees the approaching lights simply vanish.
The bored young boys watching from their bedroom window who witness the disaster.
The dreamer who designed the bridge which eventually destroyed him.
The old highlanders who professed the bridge doomed from the outset.
The young woman on the ill-fated train, carrying a love letter from the man she hoped to marry...
THE HIGH GIRDERS is a vivid, dramatic reconstruction of the ill-omened man-made catastrophe of the Tay Bridge disaster - and its grim aftermath.
'Graphically written with a sense of dramatic construction' SCOTSMAN
On December 28th 1879, the night of the Great Storm, the Tay Bridge collapsed, along with the train that was crossing, and everyone on board...
This is the true story of that disastrous night, told from multiple viewpoints:
The station master waiting for the train to arrive - who sees the approaching lights simply vanish.
The bored young boys watching from their bedroom window who witness the disaster.
The dreamer who designed the bridge which eventually destroyed him.
The old highlanders who professed the bridge doomed from the outset.
The young woman on the ill-fated train, carrying a love letter from the man she hoped to marry...
THE HIGH GIRDERS is a vivid, dramatic reconstruction of the ill-omened man-made catastrophe of the Tay Bridge disaster - and its grim aftermath.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
7 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
John Prebble
49 books28 followersJohn Edward Curtis Prebble, FRSL, OBE was an English/Canadian journalist, novelist, documentarian and historian. He is best known for his studies of Scottish history.
He was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, but he grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, where his father had a brother. His parents emigrated there after World War I. Returning to England with his family, he attended the Latymer School. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain but abandoned it after World War II.
He was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, but he grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, where his father had a brother. His parents emigrated there after World War I. Returning to England with his family, he attended the Latymer School. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain but abandoned it after World War II.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 23, 2013
It’s odd how we come to read some books, THE HIGH GIRDERS being an example. I had read Bill Bryson’s HOME and in it he discussed bridges collapsing because they had used older iron materials before much superior reinforced steel had been developed. In the course of a conversation with a friend, I mentioned this fact. He had lived in Scotland and gave me this book to read about the famous collapse of the high bridge over the Firth of Tay in 1879. I initially picked it up with some reluctance – why would I be that interested in a bridge collapsing 125 years ago?
But to my surprise, I found it fascinating. Even though the outcome was known, it had the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. There was the misplaced confidence in the technology of the era - “It was an age of new gods, and although the British people were resentful of the ignorant superstition of the lesser races they were civilizing, they saw no paradox in the blind trust they placed in their own industrial witch doctors.”
There was the tragic loss of life – 75 people who were on the train as it reached the midpoint of the span fell along with the engine and all seven cars 100 feet into the tidal waters of the firth and were immediately trapped and drowned. Not to mention another 20 men who died in accidents during its construction. This was the same bridge hailed as a wonder, one over which Queen Victoria had traveled, and one that former U.S. president Ullysses Grant admired during its construction. But only 18 months after its completion, it lay in ruins.
How did this disaster come about? There were a number of actors. The chief engineer, Sir Thomas Bauch, did not make adequate provisions for the strong sidewinds that blew down the Firth of Tay, and these winds, of unusually strong duration the evening of Sunday, December 28, 1879, apparently caused the girders, mounted on iron and brick piers, to begin oscillating. When the train of 120 tons passed over the middle section, the strain was too much, and 12 central piers buckled and collapsed. Whether the train was blown against the girders or they collapsed on their own has never been determined.
There were other problems as well. The design was visually spectacular stretching in a long two mile arc across the confluence of the Tay river and the Firth, but the inspection of the iron trusses, bolted together, was haphazard at best , done by a bricklayer who had no expertise at what to look for. There was evidence of corrosion and water damage at some of the bases on which the piers And it was revealed that some of the trusses that came from the foundry were flawed with cracks but had been filled in with a putty-like substance called “Beaumont’s egg.” It hardened and became almost invisible to the eye.
The investigation of the collapse revealed what we have seen in future years as an all too-prevalent response to questions. Bauch said on repeated occasions, “I cannot answer that question for my memory does not serve me.” He was not apparently being deliberately evasive – he just didn’t remember important details, ones that he often left rather casually to subordinates.
Prebble, who obviously did exhaustive research using newspaper accounts of the time from the nearby settlement of Dundee and various official documents, covers reaction to the loss of lives which would have been three or four times higher, had it not been a Sunday evening when there were relatively few passengers. Bodies were not immediately found (some were never recovered) and relatives and friends waited anxiously for weeks and weeks for traces of loved ones. Only a few bodies were washed up, most sank and were eventually dragged from the firth.
Prebble’s account is matter-of-fact and understated, a virtue of the history as the grim events speak for themselves. In the long history of disasters, bridges and otherwise (space launches come to mind), you might say that this one in remote Scotland has no special distinction, but I think Prebble’s account shows that it contains the elements of any disaster and for that reason is noteworthy. There was a sense of great pride, even of hubris, at triumphing over natural obstacles, of using new technology, and an almost inevitable complacency and failure to anticipate the unexpected that looks ahead to 20th century disasters.
But to my surprise, I found it fascinating. Even though the outcome was known, it had the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. There was the misplaced confidence in the technology of the era - “It was an age of new gods, and although the British people were resentful of the ignorant superstition of the lesser races they were civilizing, they saw no paradox in the blind trust they placed in their own industrial witch doctors.”
There was the tragic loss of life – 75 people who were on the train as it reached the midpoint of the span fell along with the engine and all seven cars 100 feet into the tidal waters of the firth and were immediately trapped and drowned. Not to mention another 20 men who died in accidents during its construction. This was the same bridge hailed as a wonder, one over which Queen Victoria had traveled, and one that former U.S. president Ullysses Grant admired during its construction. But only 18 months after its completion, it lay in ruins.
How did this disaster come about? There were a number of actors. The chief engineer, Sir Thomas Bauch, did not make adequate provisions for the strong sidewinds that blew down the Firth of Tay, and these winds, of unusually strong duration the evening of Sunday, December 28, 1879, apparently caused the girders, mounted on iron and brick piers, to begin oscillating. When the train of 120 tons passed over the middle section, the strain was too much, and 12 central piers buckled and collapsed. Whether the train was blown against the girders or they collapsed on their own has never been determined.
There were other problems as well. The design was visually spectacular stretching in a long two mile arc across the confluence of the Tay river and the Firth, but the inspection of the iron trusses, bolted together, was haphazard at best , done by a bricklayer who had no expertise at what to look for. There was evidence of corrosion and water damage at some of the bases on which the piers And it was revealed that some of the trusses that came from the foundry were flawed with cracks but had been filled in with a putty-like substance called “Beaumont’s egg.” It hardened and became almost invisible to the eye.
The investigation of the collapse revealed what we have seen in future years as an all too-prevalent response to questions. Bauch said on repeated occasions, “I cannot answer that question for my memory does not serve me.” He was not apparently being deliberately evasive – he just didn’t remember important details, ones that he often left rather casually to subordinates.
Prebble, who obviously did exhaustive research using newspaper accounts of the time from the nearby settlement of Dundee and various official documents, covers reaction to the loss of lives which would have been three or four times higher, had it not been a Sunday evening when there were relatively few passengers. Bodies were not immediately found (some were never recovered) and relatives and friends waited anxiously for weeks and weeks for traces of loved ones. Only a few bodies were washed up, most sank and were eventually dragged from the firth.
Prebble’s account is matter-of-fact and understated, a virtue of the history as the grim events speak for themselves. In the long history of disasters, bridges and otherwise (space launches come to mind), you might say that this one in remote Scotland has no special distinction, but I think Prebble’s account shows that it contains the elements of any disaster and for that reason is noteworthy. There was a sense of great pride, even of hubris, at triumphing over natural obstacles, of using new technology, and an almost inevitable complacency and failure to anticipate the unexpected that looks ahead to 20th century disasters.
November 24, 2014
Another stirring account of a tragedy for Scotland. he leaves no detail unexamined in this marvellous story of a national disaster.
September 17, 2019
I first read the Reader’s Digest Condensed Books version of this longer ago than I like to remember, and was delighted to find a hardcover reprint at an Edinburgh book fair twenty years ago. Prebble was a fine writer, telling the history of the original Tay Bridge, the storm that destroyed it and the investigation that followed in lucid detail. He has compassion for all the victims, including the designer, who survived his bridge by less than a year. I’m rereading the book for the umpteenth time at present, and possibly the most chilling part is the Overture (the book is divided into acts) with its description of the signalman seeing the faces of the crew and passengers as the train headed out onto the bridge on the night of the storm.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in rail history, Scottish history, Victorian history, disasters, or, well, good history generally.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in rail history, Scottish history, Victorian history, disasters, or, well, good history generally.
December 20, 2019
'The High Girders' is an example of a form of popular history writing that is nominally no longer published, yet is still relevant in its core raison d'etre and its processes. Prebble brings a novelist's sensibilities to a fascinating story of human tragedy, accompanied by solid historical research, and presents a compelling historical narrative. However, and this is where his approach and this book is not in line with many of what I consider the best popular histories of today, his research and scholarship is in part obfuscated by his sentimental prose and his lack of academic footnotes and bibliographical citations.
This criticism should not deter one from reading 'The High Girders' if one wants to approach it from a desire to learn the history of the Tay Bridge disaster, or if one is interested in historical texts in general. In fact, Prebble achieves much in terms of bringing the event and its associated participants alive through his writing. He is not frightened of letting his prose and the victims of the disaster arouse emotions that encourage engagement with the history he writes of. This is an aim that all writers of history, whether they be populist or highly academic should never forget; a dull historical text that fails to recognise and explore the humanity of the past is not going to be read and it's conclusions will be ignored. Prebble has certainly avoided this fate with this book.
However, as one who has read dozens of histories over the years, I found the lack of footnoting as per more academic studies, and the 'novel-like' prose of Prebble, a little distracting. This is a minor quibble and is more a reflection of my values and priorities as a reader than Prebble's work. It could be said that this book pre-figures the kind of historical text that one nowadays sees on television as opposed in print. In fact it's surprising that someone like Neil Oliver hasn't produced an update on Prebble's book for TV.
There is nothing more I can add to this review other than my recommendation that anyone interested in any associated histories (Scottish, Victorian, engineering, disasters, etc) should look at reading 'The High Girders'. It is a great read that serves its subject very well, and perhaps a classic of popular historical writing.
This criticism should not deter one from reading 'The High Girders' if one wants to approach it from a desire to learn the history of the Tay Bridge disaster, or if one is interested in historical texts in general. In fact, Prebble achieves much in terms of bringing the event and its associated participants alive through his writing. He is not frightened of letting his prose and the victims of the disaster arouse emotions that encourage engagement with the history he writes of. This is an aim that all writers of history, whether they be populist or highly academic should never forget; a dull historical text that fails to recognise and explore the humanity of the past is not going to be read and it's conclusions will be ignored. Prebble has certainly avoided this fate with this book.
However, as one who has read dozens of histories over the years, I found the lack of footnoting as per more academic studies, and the 'novel-like' prose of Prebble, a little distracting. This is a minor quibble and is more a reflection of my values and priorities as a reader than Prebble's work. It could be said that this book pre-figures the kind of historical text that one nowadays sees on television as opposed in print. In fact it's surprising that someone like Neil Oliver hasn't produced an update on Prebble's book for TV.
There is nothing more I can add to this review other than my recommendation that anyone interested in any associated histories (Scottish, Victorian, engineering, disasters, etc) should look at reading 'The High Girders'. It is a great read that serves its subject very well, and perhaps a classic of popular historical writing.
January 3, 2022
I remember a TV documentary from the late 1970s about various disasters in history and the painting and music for this bridge tragedy stuck with me. I have searched in vain for that documentary over the years without success so I was glad to purchase this book on my Audible membership.
When you read the chapter on the substandard #iron and #Beaumontsegg used on the girders it beggars belief that the bridge lasted 18 months really. Poor Thomas Bouch was vilified unjustly.
#ThomasBouch #TayRiverBridgeDisaster #Dundee
When you read the chapter on the substandard #iron and #Beaumontsegg used on the girders it beggars belief that the bridge lasted 18 months really. Poor Thomas Bouch was vilified unjustly.
#ThomasBouch #TayRiverBridgeDisaster #Dundee
June 1, 2021
A gripping account of the Tay Bridge Disaster. It is like a thriller though we all know how it ends. Prebble makes it personal, by describing those who designed the bridge, those who opposed it, those who built it and those who died that Sunday evening when the middle of the bridge (the high girders) plunged with a train into the Tay. He recounts the Board of Trade enquiry and the search for bodies and meaning.
If you don’t know of this disaster from McGonagall’s terrible poem or from Cronin’s “Hatter’s Castle” you should read this book.
It is interesting how quickly an enquiry could be commenced and a report produced in the 19th century compared with more recent events, particularly Grenfell.
If you don’t know of this disaster from McGonagall’s terrible poem or from Cronin’s “Hatter’s Castle” you should read this book.
It is interesting how quickly an enquiry could be commenced and a report produced in the 19th century compared with more recent events, particularly Grenfell.
September 9, 2021
John Prebble takes a fine tooth comb to just about every aspect of the Tay Bridge disaster and lays bare every detail, from the bridge's inception to its fall, with care and respect. While the events surrounding its fall are rivetting to read about, just as interesting to hear of are the insights into the minds that lived through the time, and how they viewed the rapidly changing world around them. Though the fine details are what make this book great, they can on occasion become cumbersome and dry, with legal talk and endless names getting thrown around. Thankfully, this does not make up the meat of the book, and can be easily trudged through if you have the constitution for it. All in all, I would recommend this book to any train enthusiasts out there!
November 6, 2021
Terrific stuff. I read this book many years ago but, having recently seen a play themed around the Tay Bridge disaster, I wanted to read it again. Growing up in Dundee I, of course, knew the story and am very very familiar with the locations described. Not to mention having crossed the 2nd bridge more times than I can remember. All of that gives this story a real kick for me but even for anyone less familiar with the story the book is well written and explains the background and events of that terrible day clearly.
October 28, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyable and interesting. Makes me now want to search out another book which will go into more detail on the technical aspects of the bridge failure. But this one by Peebles has a great blend of social, historical and technical content.
July 17, 2021
some research errors, not as good as his other books
November 5, 2025
A great book on a terrible tragedy
September 5, 2024
This book was recommended to me after I had been on holiday near the Tay Bridge. I thought it might be a bit morbid and upsetting but in fact it was quite gripping. The lead up to the disaster and the conversations with passengers before it happened was fascinating as was the aftermath at the time and over the weeks to come. It was so well researched and written, I want to return to the area again and travel by train over the replacement bridge.
September 4, 2022
I recently read this book again, having first read it in 1978, by coincidence, being 100 years exactly from the date of the opening of the bridge. It was quite possibly the only book I ever borrowed from Carnoustie High school library! Having previously read "the Highland Clearances" by the same author, I should have expected this to be of the same high quality. In fact, this book does not fail to deliver the same well-written text, thoroughly researched information which is full of relevant factual detail but at the same time a very readable book, which blends social history and local folklore into the historical novel. Anyone living in the Dundee area should read this, rather that relying on a 5 minute long you tube video to understand some of the background into the building, design, failures and catastrophe of the bridge. Although more recent texts on the subject probably cover the technicalities behind the collapse of the bridge to a higher level, this book still provides essential coverage of subject in a wider context.
January 10, 2016
Prebble's history of the disaster is a spellbinding read and deserves a reprint as do most of his other books.
Travelling by train over the replacement bridge today is an eerie experience if you have read this account as some of the stone piers which supported the doomed original run parallel with the present structure.
Amazingly the locomotive was salvaged and ran again for another forty years, NBR engine 224 worked under the mordant soubriquet of The Diver until 1919
Check out the contemporary commemorative verses written by the celebrated William McGonagall, the Ed Wood of poetry.
Travelling by train over the replacement bridge today is an eerie experience if you have read this account as some of the stone piers which supported the doomed original run parallel with the present structure.
Amazingly the locomotive was salvaged and ran again for another forty years, NBR engine 224 worked under the mordant soubriquet of The Diver until 1919
Check out the contemporary commemorative verses written by the celebrated William McGonagall, the Ed Wood of poetry.
September 8, 2014
excellent in depth account of the Tay Bridge disaster and its reasons - I studied in Dundee and was always fascinated by the story, this really brings out exactly what happened, its causes and effects.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews