Details of Railway Incidents in the Ottawa Area
1882 November 27 - Near head on collision between a passenger and a freight train. CPR Chalk River sub., Carleton Place.
Almonte Gazette 1 December 1882 NARROW ESCAPE FROM A COLLISION.- the Central Canadian of this week says: one of the most miraculous escapes in the latter-day terrible records of the C. P. R. occurred last Monday at noon three miles out from Carleton Place on the way to Brockville. The noon express was then at full speed with the usual supply of humanity aboard, when suddenly the awful spectacle of an approaching freight was seen coming up a grade. The situation was frightful in the extreme, and as the two drivers wrought as against certain death to avoid what seemed short of being a shocking mangling collision, the passengers became bursting with excitement and agony. The laboring freight was working around a curved grade, and was moving slowly almost at the summit; the driver of the express was on a straight track and could see quite a distance. This gave him time to apply the brakes, but long before he had stopped men, women and children had jumped off, in their fear, feeling certain that a collision was inevitable. The trains came to within a very few yards of each other before stopping. The passengers returned and the freight backed up to Franktown, the express proceeding. |
Updated 10 August 2022