THE TAY BRIDGE DISASTER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 41, 17 February 1880, Page 5

THE TAY BRIDGE DISASTER

; other side had ceased. What had in reality happened the public know now as well as they are ever likely to ; know."

■ ; ; - The following" ari&Mnfc of tibia terri ■ big' UMM 1 , b$ which ninety, jivje. were^ lost, appear,? in the Home Neioi aßfrbm an eye witness :~ \ '♦I was seated by my fireside (it Sunday evenlbg 1 ,,, listening to tlie clamour of tj&e sior-m without^ when ,s jblaatotjvnhdjmgre furious than before caught the chimneys of a house almost > opposite and brought them down to tb'e ground with a crash that Btartled every one of us to our feet. Stepping ove|r to the casement I gazed out upon the street, and just then a blazs of moonlight lighted up the broad expanse of the Tay down below, arid the long, white, sinuous line of the bridge came in view. I don't know how it was, but I instinctively took out ray watch. • It was exactly seven o'clock. • The Edinburgh train will be due immediately,' I exclaimed to my wife, 'come and let us go and see whether it will attempt to cross on such a nigbti' - So] saying,' we turned down the gss. ik -• the parlor, and with many expression^ of thabkfutness that no friends of ours 1 , bo far as we knew, had to cross the •< river at that' time, prepared to wait the appearance of the expected train. The light by this Ji.ma i had become most! fitful, and great massea of clouds were icpariog across the expanse of the heavens, at times totally obscuring the light of the full rriooi^. 'There shej comes,' cried one of my children, and at that moment the slowly moving lights of the Edinburgh train ! could be Been rounding the curve at. Wormiti Then it passed the signal at the south 1 side, and entered upon the long straight line of that portion of the bridge. 1 Once on the bridge it seemed to move! with great swiftness along, and when| the. engine entered the tunnel-like' cloisters of the great girders, about the' centre of the bridge, my Httle : girjl ex-; actly described the effect of (ha; lights; aßseea through^ lattice-jwbrk when she! .exclaimed, "Look, papa ! Isn't that! lightning? 1 All this takes some time! to write, but to the eye it seemed as| if, almost simultaneous with tin en-> trance of the train, upon this part o'f tbe : bridge, a comet-like burstof fiery sparks' sprang out, as if forcibly ejected into' the derkneßS from the engine. la a 1 long visible trail the streak of fire was l seed', I till quenched in the stormy water! below, ' Then' ,there was absolute 1 darkness oa the bridge. A silence fell npon thla eager group at the window.: Thon with stunning force the idea; broke upon my mind,; • Heavens,' i! cried, *I fear the train is over the! bridge.' With a groWing horror, I ! watched the curve at ibis north side to try whether I could see'the train pass: that point ; but as saveral minutes passed and no moving , object became visible at that point, I snatched up ray hat and hurried across the Magdalengreen, to meet several individuals all bent upon the same eirand as mys3lf. Tb.e terrifis nature of tbe gale at this time may be inferred from the fact that, descending the elop9 of the green, I had to orouch down upon ihe grass to prevent being blown bodily away. It seemed as if the wind had become a solid compelling power and waa actually attempting to drag one away with a giant's grasp. One gentleman wa3 blown up against another on the green, and they both tumbled together. The massive signal-poat beside the signalbox on tha north en 1 of the bridge waa bent by the wind like a willow wand. Oa the Esplanade the sand and pebbles were dashed about jvith such force that my hands and faoe were positively sojre. Looking towards, the river iicpoltf maka out nothing clearly. ThV water irotk the .broken Newport water-pipe On the bridge was pouring ouTirito the riyer ? and being caught inits despeot by the; wind,, was lashed i^lftimisyy spray that hejped ,to veil £he ghastly {gap which had by this time Itfjfo wtfde in the iron' highway. A titf'taber. pT gentlemen having now on the esplanade; ooeo^tiem climbed up into the sigiial-box above,- and there learnt (from the man stationed less thao a mile the scene q| the great catastrophe, that ho knew nothing more of what had li-tppeoei than that the train »ignalled to hicn as having entered upoa the bridge fully fifteen minutes before had never reachel his atatioa and. tbTat all ielegfapurei coannumcatiba witti the