Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1874, June 23 - A horse stumbles over a viaduct on the Union Forwarding Company's horse railway.

Ottawa Citizen 24 June 1874 Yesterday afternoon while one of the horse cars was conveying passengers over the tramway between Pontiac and Union village on the Union Forwarding and Railway Co.'s line, the horse stumbled and fell over the tramway.  He was suspended by the traces a distance of some fifty or sixty feet above the ground for a few minutes.  Finally, when it was found impossible to pull him up, the traces were cut, and the poor animal was allowed to fall to the ground, where his brains were dashed out and he was instantly killed.  It was fortunate the car was not thrown off the track and the passengers killed.  The company, for the better security of passengers passing over that route should place a strong fence on both sides of their bridges outside of the track, as it has often been a matter of surprise that serious accidents have not occurred on them.  When a foot passenger meets a car on the bridges he has to crawl out on a stringer and remain in a perilous position till the cars have passed.

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Updated January 2014