Story Behind The Song

On 28 December 1879, the regular engine for the 1.30 p.m. mail train from Dundee to Burntisland failed and no. 224 was called out to work the train. It did so without incident on the southbound run, but when working the 5.20 p.m. northbound service later in the day, due to arrive at Dundee a little before 7.30, it was on the Tay Bridge when shortly after 7.13 p.m. the latter collapsed. The driver and "stoker" (fireman), of no. 224 had no warning of the impending disaster, and neither closed the regulator nor applied the brakes; they were among the 75 persons killed. Despite the fall, the locomotive was relatively undamaged, being protected by the bridge girders which formed a cage around the train as they fell together. In April 1880, an attempt to recover the locomotive failed when the chains broke. Two days later, a second attempt also failed because the salvage equipment broke after the locomotive had been brought to the surface.One week later, it was recovered, and stood on the bank of the Tay until it was sent to Cowlairs on its own wheels for repairs, after which it was returned to traffic. It gained the nickname "The Diver" as a result of its accident and difficult recovery.