"Well, the pilot went on the VHF to Port Control who told us the devastating news. They asked if we could turn round and go back to give assistance to anyone in the water. But I'm afraid that by the time we got there most of the poor folk were already dead. If the 200 feet fall from the bridge hadn't killed them, then the freezing water meant they wouldn't survive very long. We only found 2 bodies, both young men. The lifeboat did pick up a few survivors, but I'm afraid the rest were either trapped inside their vehicles on the bottom of the river, or were swept out to sea by the strong ebb tide."

"Man, that was a terrible thing for you to deal with," said a shocked Donald.

"And that poor guy in charge of the bridge," Arthur reminded them, "committed suicide the next day."

It was a difficult time for everyone, with the death toll reaching 43. Traffic was thrown into utter chaos and sometimes there were queues of 10 miles at the Kincardine Bridge.

Fortunately, Stagecoach had just started its new high speed ferry service between Burntisland and Leith, with connecting bus links at each end, and Caledonian MacBrayne eased things slightly by transferring 2 of its ferries from the west coast to re-open the route between North & South Queensferry. The prospect of this carrying on for another 10 years was unthinkable.

There was a period of sober reflection before Donald broke the silence. "Isn't it amazing how the rail bridge, 130 years old, twice the age of the road bridge and still going strong, is looking just as good as the day it was built. I tell you, these Victorians could teach us all a few things about building things."