A spectacular fireworks display will mark the unveiling of memorials to honour the victims of the Tay Rail Bridge disaster, The Courier can reveal.
The display is scheduled for Saturday at 7.15pm, just hours after the memorials are officially dedicated by descendants of those who died in the tragedy 134 years ago.
As reported by The Courier last week, the giant granite blocks that carry the names of the 59 people “known to have died” in the tragedy of December 28 1879 will be unveiled at ceremonies on Saturday.
The memorials three angled granite plates at both Dundee Riverside and Wormit Bay in Fife have been crafted at a workshop in Inverurie.
One man who has made it his mission to ensure the victims of the Tay Rail Bridge disaster are never forgotten is Professor David Swinfen. The former vice-principal of Dundee University and author of a book on the disaster has been leading the campaign to have memorials placed at either side of the Tay.
Historian Mr Swinfen, 75, recently became chairman of the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust and has been helping to breathe new life into the drive to raise cash for permanent tributes in Dundee and Fife to those who died that fateful night.
He said: “I am now able to confirm that the planned firework display will go ahead at 7.15 pm on the 28th, unless there is a serious problem with the weather.
“The firing platform will be a barge secured to the supports of the bridge on the downstream side and located as nearly as possible equidistant from the Fife and Dundee banks of the river.
“The display will be mounted by Reaction Fireworks and has been generously sponsored by Network Rail.
“Arrangements for protection of the public along Riverside have been agreed with representatives of Police Scotland, the fire service and Dundee City Council.
“We have included a firework display in the programme for what is otherwise a very solemn occasion for a number of reasons.
“We wish to celebrate the fact that, in erecting memorials to the victims of the disaster, we have helped to correct a long- standing injustice to the victims and bring closure to their descendents.
“We are also keen to bring the whole matter to the attention of the younger generation. A spectacular firework display, we hope, will long remain in the minds of those who witness it just as many of us who were in Dundee in 1988 remember the display to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the current rail bridge.
“And in any case, we thought it appropriate to end the day on a positive and uplifting note,” Mr Swinfen added.