The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1880-01-07
A Disaster Without Parallel

A Disaster Without Parallel.
On the day alter the railroad disaster in
Scotland, the following account was sent by
cable To the Now York Telegram: The APP
palling milroad tragedy near Dundee, in
Scotland, by which about loo persons lost
their lives in the Firth OF lay, has senta thrill
OF horror through tho British Isles. SIX
bodies have been recovered so lar, ana m all
probability many days will eapse before
divers con bring to the surface the railroad
carriages in which the other victims are en-
tombed. Thousands Of people are nuNiously
awaiting nows in Dundee and Edinburg
The scene at the broken bridge this morning
is a most pathetic one, wives, brothers, hus-
bands aud lovers all broken. hearted aud do
spairing. No sadder spectacle could he wit
messed in Gods world. a large number oil
steamers and small craft are around the spot
where the catastrophe occurred. The tidings
OF the disaster were first conveyed by gen
tleman who had lett his house with friend
while the southwest gale was blowing with
all its fury. They began discussing whether,
on such a night the Ednburs train would
venture across the bridge, which was the
largest structure OF the kind in the world,
being nearly two miles long. They then
went to the block telegraph signal box, sit
uated at the north end OF the bridge, where
they found n number of men, Slso anXiousy
awaiting lnbl llhtlOn On lllt bNl JNNAs
Some of them asserted that they had seen
the lights OF the train in question enter on the
bridge and cross the lower spans into the high
girders; then they saw Il sudden shower OF
fire, which, with the lights OF the train, seemed
to descend with great velocity in the river;
then perfect darkness followed. Minutes and
minutes passed, but no signs of the train were
seen, and the people asked themselves were
these really the lights OF the Ednburg train
they had seen so suddenly quenched The
horror-stricken bCholders made vehement
appeals TO the signal man TO ascertain the
truth He replied that I'LL he knew OF the
matter was that the train had been sgnalcd
to him from the south end of the bridge at
! nine minutes past seven O'Clock. Discovering
! no indications OF the approach of the train,
| the alarmed signal man cndeavOred to tcle-
| graph to the south end OF the bridge, but be.
! tween fourteen and seventeen minutes COM
munication ceased The news was conveyed
} to james Smith, master Of the lay bridge
station, and it spread like wildhle. Crowds
| from Dundee and the adjoining ncighborhood
! thronged the north end of The bridge,
In order to ascertain the real state Of affairs
two men volunteered to venture out ON the
bridge to make personal investigation. They
were James Roberts, locomotive superin-
tcndcnt OF the North British railway, and
! james Smith, in charge OF the lay bridge
I station. As they advanced upon the bridge
| the gale seemed to increase in fury and
almost swept them OIL their feet. They per-
severed, however, and made their way tor.
ward slowly and with difficulty, clinging
at times to the rails to prevent themselves
from being carried away by the fierce storm
and flung into the boiling waves OF the FIRTH,
ninety feet beneath. At length, alter in
flute tol, their hands lecerated and bleed.
ing, they reached the brink Of the awful abyss.
The magnitude OF the calamity was then re-
vealed to their horror stricken eyes. Roberts,
alihouIh stunned and dazed for the moment,
determined 10 pnsh his investigations still
further He crawled out to the point whore
the high girders begin, and found that the
whole thirteen girders had disappeared, Each
| girder was 245 feet in width and weighed 250
| tons. Tney formed u sort OF tunnel in the
middle OF the bridge. The waves roared be-
meath around the bare iron piers, and one
! third oil the whole structure had vanished,
leaving as melancholy monuments thirteen
stumps Of brickwoIk in the Firth. Not Il soul
on board the train has escaped to tell the story
OF that awful plunge.
The Bridge Described.
he bridge was building nearly five years,
and ut times as nany as 1900 persons were
employe in the work Its construction con-
sumed $500 tons of iron work, 1900 tons OF
cast iron work, $4,000 cubic yards OF brick
work, and S7,Si5 cubic feet OF timber. The
contractors estimated the cost at about $40,
100, 600. The builders found the notton com
posed OF rock in some paces, OF hard ma
terial resting on silt in other places, and OF
sand covered with single and great bouldels
along the remainder OF the route across the
stream. The stream is about twenty five feet
deep in the channel. Storms hindered
the work. NortheIly and sOuthwesterly
winds sweep with terrific force down the
river, and because of its great width
and strong tides the sen is often very
heavy. Once a gale blew for three weeks,
and all work was suspended until the
storm ceased. 1t was on account OF these
disadvantages that so much OF the work was
done on shore. There the great piers were
built, and from there they were tloated out
into the stream and lowered in position by
great hydraulic rams. These piers were
formed OF immense double cylinders OF iron
which were let down upon the river bottom
Woikmeninside of them eXcavated the grounC
beneath and Embedded them in their places
Then they were filed with broken stone and
liquid concrete, and the columns OF the bridge
were built upon them. Near tho shor,
huge brick wall connected these piers. Tho
brick work OF the piers was" held together
with cement, and this and the concrete be
St'iho 81 stIohS nHu Wnen Two piers, That cap
sized in the early part OF the work, wert
dragged ashore, they could be broken M onl,
by blasting. The girders spanning the col
umns were put together on shore and floatet
out to their places in the bridge. Thes,
Orders are OF heavy wrought iron, brace,
with angle iron. The roadway is carried b,
cross sleepers, twelve by nine inches place,
three feet apart. Where the roadway run
below the girders it is carried by iron eros
girders five feet apart, the rails being lai,
upon iourteen-inch longitudinal sleepers
There are double cylindrical columns
under most OF the spars, but on thu
Dundee end OF the bridge, at the curve, TIL
siXty-sx-foot spars are upheld by three cas-
iron piles, two of which are vertical, Will
the third is "raker," with batter of on
foot in three, and is placed outside the curve
When it was built it was the longest iro
bridge in the world Throughout the king
dom many expressions OF doubt as to tn
! wisdom oil building such long and slende
bridge found their way into the newspaper.
and were noticed in the parliamentary debate
of the time.
! The Tay rises in small loch on the horde
of Argyleshire, and is called the Pillan unit
{ it passes through Loeb Dochart, and theme
TO Loeb Tuy, nineteen miles from its moutl
4 it is known as the Dochart. 1t receives tn
l River Lochie and the River Lyon, and man
lesser streams. 1t is 100 miles long and dc
scribes almost semicircle in its course.