Make a film about the Tay Bridge Disaster of 1879

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay!

Alas! I am very sorry to say

That ninety lives have been taken away

On the last Sabbath day of 1879,

Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

~ William McGonagall

Tay to Titanic

It was the scale of the Titanic sinking of its time. The greatest engineering disaster in the Victorian period. The Tay Bridge Disaster is remembered because its effect on the complacency of the time was so great that an emotional shock-wave continues to pass through succeeding generations. It’s not the loss of life, engine, carriages and one thousand yards of iron girders. It’s not the loss of the longest and greatest bridge in the world at the time. The night the Tay Bridge fell, the Victorian’s smug pride in their industrial supremacy was also lost along with their belief in their creative infallibility. It would be easy for the Victorians to see the disaster as a lesson, were it not for the fact that the same pride and ignorance that contributed to the fall of the bridge are part of our way of life still. Like many great disasters and lessons the world has seen, this is one that deserves to be told.

Project Aims

This is a film about railways, written and produced by railway enthusiasts. Unlike many other films, this will be as accurate as possible.

This production is being produced by iShoot Entertainment in association with Key Publishing. The end goal is to produce a feature film about the Tay Bridge Disaster, titled ‘The Silv’ry Tay’. A feature film of this nature would cost millions and require a full, large production crew to produce it, so in order to pitch the film concept we are producing two films for this project to get it off the ground. These include:

1 ~ A short film titled ‘The High Girders’ showing the final moments leading up to the disaster at the Tay bridge itself.

2 ~ A feature film trailer of 2-3min duration that outlines the concept for the feature film 'The Silv'ry Tay'.

The short film and movie trailer will be shown online via Key Model World and other mediums such as YouTube. It is intended to build a database of view numbers for each film so that these can be put forward, along with the pitch and script for a feature film about the Tay Bridge disaster, to NetFlix or other streaming services.

Production Budget

We have estimated the cost of production of both the short film and the trailer combined to be £10,000. This includes such things as:

Filming Locations & Sets

In order to realise our vision the following locations will be utilised along with several others:

About the Filmmaker

Jonathan Newton

This concept is the idea of writer/director Jonathan Newton. He has always been fascinated by the story of the Tay Bridge, so much so that at the age of 17 he made a short film about it back in 1999 during film school, which won him an award at the AVPA (Australian Video Producers Association) and his film received a standing ovation during the end of year screening. Since then he has been researching and planning out this project in the background while working on and writing other films.

His feature film debut came in 2021 when he released ‘The Party Bus’. Written, directed and staring in it, the film tells the story of a young man who, in a struggle to find himself and gain confidence, goes to work on a party bus and lands himself in the middle of the drug scene and needs to find a way to overcome it and defeat Logan, who is out for revenge. Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/9mk0N-0CDjs

The Party Bus movie is available to stream on Amazon Prime UK, Tubi, AppleTV and many other platforms.

Jonathan has also produced a series of highly successful documentaries and continues to produce high-end content for Hornby Magazine on a weekly basis.

With his years of film making experience behind him, Jonathan has all the knowledge and skills to now bring his vision of the Tay Bridge Disaster to life in an epic and unforgettable way.

Benefits of Donating

When making a contribution toward this project you will receive:

If you are able to donate £20 or more to this project, we would be most appreciative of your support. We look forward to sharing the story of the Tay Bridge Disaster with you all.

"...the last Sabbath day of 1879, which will be remember’d for a very long time!"