Thousands have paused to remember the Tay Bridge disaster on its 146th anniversary

Thousands of people across Dundee and beyond have taken time to remember the Tay Bridge disaster, marking 146 years since one of the darkest days in the city’s history.

Messages, photographs and reflections were widely shared as people paused to honour the 75 lives lost on 28 December 1879.

The disaster struck on a violent winter evening as a passenger train attempted to cross the Tay Bridge during a ferocious storm.

High winds battered the structure as the train made its way across the exposed central spans, with conditions worsening by the minute.

Just after 7pm, the bridge gave way under the strain. Several central sections collapsed into the River Tay below, sending the train and everyone on board into the freezing, dark waters.

There were no survivors, and rescue efforts were quickly overwhelmed by the severity of the storm.

News of the disaster sent shockwaves through Dundee and far beyond. Families waited anxiously for loved ones who never returned, while the scale of the tragedy became clear in the days that followed. The loss was deeply felt across the city, leaving a lasting scar on the community.

In the years that followed, the Tay Bridge disaster reshaped thinking around engineering, safety standards and accountability.

Lessons learned from the collapse influenced bridge design across the world, ensuring that the tragedy would have a lasting impact beyond Dundee.

Today, 146 years on, the victims are still remembered. The Tay Bridge disaster remains the worst in Dundee’s history, a solemn reminder of lives lost and a moment that continues to shape how the city remembers its past.