In 1879 the Tay Bridge in Scotland collapsed six months after it was
opened and a train fell into the river; all the passengers and crew – 75
people – were drowned. It was not the worst British railway accident but
it is the best remembered. The failure of a major engineering work so soon
after completion caused considerable disquiet among both the public and
professional engineers and, as at Flixborough, there was a public inquiry.
The report shows a number of similarities to the Flixborough explosion.