RECENTLY REDISCOVERED pictures of the aftermath of the Tay Rail Bridge disaster comfortably exceeded their estimated price at auction in Dundee yesterday.

Murray Mackinnon from Aberdeen bought the collection of previously unseen snaps for £2000.

Before the sale, auctioneers Curr & Dewar had placed a cautious estimate of £300 to £500 on the lot.

The rare early photographs recording the devastation and reconstruction following the Tay Rail Bridge disaster of 1879, which killed 75 people, were long forgotten and discovered in a Broughty Ferry attic.

The collection dates from the 1880s when the reconstruction of the bridge began and shows demolition workers preparing to dynamite the damaged steel piers.

A spokesman for Curr & Dewar said, “The saleroom was very busy and we’re obviously very happy they fetched a good price.”