Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1920, April 6 - Derailment near Godfrey, CPR., Kingston sub., no injuries

Kingston British Whig 6 April 1920 C.P.R. Train Left Rails Two Passenger Coaches Were Ditched No One Was Much Injured— -  Woman With a Baby Was Among the Passengers It is only a miracle that several people were not seriously injured on Tuesday morning when the Canadian Pacific train, due to arrive in Kingston at nine o'clock, left the track at Babcock's Crossing, about one mile and half south of Godfrey station. Two passenger coaches and one box car loaded with wood left the tracks and turned on their side in the ditch. It is thought that the accident was due to the rails spreading. It is certainly very fortunate that the train was not running at a very fast rate of speed, or some of the passengers would have likely been seriously injured. When speaking to people at Verona on Tuesday morning, the Whig learned that in one of the coaches which turned over, was a sick woman with an infant in arms. As soon as the accident happened the wrecking crew from Smith's Falls was summoned and the work of clearing the track was commenced. It is expected that this will require some time, as when the cars left the rails they tore up about ten rods of track. An engine and caboose were sent out from Kingston and all the passengers were placed into this car and brought to the city. They arrived about 11.30 o'clock. R.J. Reid's ambulance removed the sick woman and her baby to the General Hospital. Ottawa Citizen 6 April 1920 C.P.Train Jumps Track at Crossing Kingston Ont. April 6. - Passengers on a Canadian Pacific Railway mixed train running from Sharbot Lake to Kingston had a miraculous escape this morning when the train jumped the track at Babcocks crossing, a mile and a quarter souith of Godfrey station. Two coaches were turned over on their sides in the ditch but it is reported that no person was hurt. One of the women passengers was very ill at the time with an infant in her arms. A spreading rail is given as the cause of the accident. Andrew Jeanes writes (October 2020) There weren’t very many road crossings between Godfrey and Verona. I’m guessing that Babcock’s crossing is what today is known as Craig Road, about two and a quarter miles south of the former Godfrey Station. https://goo.gl/maps/niiczf5h2L59v1AT8 A mile and a half south of Godfrey is roughly where the boundary runs between the former Portland and Hinchinbrooke townships, but there’s no road crossing of the former railway ROW near there.

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Updated 18 October 2020