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Sir Thomas Bouch | |
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| Born | 25 February 1822 Thursby, Cumberland, England |
| Died | 30 October 1880 (aged 58) Moffat, Scotland |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil engineer Structural engineer |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (Associate 1850, Member 1858) |
| Projects | Waverley Station, Tay Rail Bridge |
Sir Thomas Bouch (/ˈbaʊtʃ/; 25 February 1822 – 30 October 1880) was a British railway engineer. He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland,[1] and lived in Edinburgh. As manager of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway he introduced the first roll-on/roll-off train ferry service in the world. Subsequently as a consulting engineer, he helped develop the caisson and popularised the use of lattice girders in railway bridges. He was knighted after the successful completion of the first Tay Railway Bridge, but his reputation was destroyed by the subsequent Tay Bridge disaster, in which 75 people are believed to have died as a result of defects in design, construction and maintenance, for all of which Bouch was held responsible. He died within 18 months of being knighted.
- ^ "Memoirs of Deceased Members" (PDF). Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. PART 1. 63 (1): 301–8. January 1881. ISSN 1753-7843. Retrieved 17 February 2012.[permanent dead link]