From Farewell to steam by Don Bilston. The song gives the details of the train and names David Mitchell of Dundee as the driver. The song describes the disaster in some detail.
From Farewell to steam by Don Bilston. The song gives the details of the train and names David Mitchell of Dundee as the driver. The song describes the disaster in some detail.
First line "Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv'ry Tay!" Is the only piece that acknowledges the finding of the enquiry. McGonnagall overestimates the number of lives lost. As a true Scot, he sets the season as New Year rather than Christmas.
First line "In this gay and festive season," emphasises that the disaster happened during the Christmas season. It also gives some technical detail about the causes of the accident.
First line "The Bridge, the Bridge, the wondrous Bridge" seems to be the text on which bar659 is based. It starts by admiring the engineering of the bridge but says that nature is more powerful than human ingenuity. It puts the event in the wider context of the journey and sets the season as New Year rather than Christmas.
The preamble to the verses states "that over sixty lives were lost, and none were left to tell the tale. There are now Forty-six bodies recovered, two of which are women, and one a girl, and all identified" a level of detail hinting that the verses were written some days after the event.