Bridge Accidents

Failures of bridges occur by reason of defective construction, derailment of trains, fire and floods. The Ash tabula (see ASH TABULA BRIDGE), and Tay Bridge accidents were due to the first cause. The Tay Bridge was blown down Dec. 1879 while a train was pa ing, and 75 persons perished; the cast-iron piers were found to be of insufficient strength. The failure of a bridge at Rosin dale, Ma ., 1887, caused the death of 26 persons. In the ten years preceding 1889 there were 265 bridge failures in U. S. and Canada, of which 34 were caused by defective construction, 60 by derailed trains, and 66 by fire and flood. The accident at Chats worth, Ill., 1887, caused by the burning of a small wooden trestle, resulted in the death of 73 persons.