Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1884, September 20 - Derailment at Renfrew, Canadian Pacific, 1 killed.

Almonte Gazette 26 September 1884 ACCIDENT ON THE C.P.R. AT RENFREW. - on Saturday afternoon last the regular way train for Chalk River, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, had to just got under headway, steaming out from Renfrew, when the engine left the rails. Driver Chevrier was thrown out of the cab window, and escaped with severe bruises. Fireman Wm. Eady, however, was less fortunate. He was at the time on top of the tender, and was thrown to the ground, the engine and seven cars passing over his body, crushing it almost to jelly. The tender hands of his fellow employees gathered up the remains which were mangled beyond recognition, placed them in an improvised casket, and forwarded them to the parents in Arnprior. The accident can only be accounted for on the supposition that a stone on the track caused the engine to leave the rails. At a meeting of the locomotive fireman brotherhood resolutions of condolence with the parents was passed and members ordered to wear a badge of mourning for thirty days. The damages are estimated at $70,000 The Equity, Bryson 2 Oct 1884 Arnprior Chronicle.  The freight train going north had just left Renfrew station - when a terrible accident occurred, resulting in the death of Wellington W. Edey, the fireman.-- Just about the Renfrew station there is a switch leading into the lumber yard of Mr. Martin Russell, and it was at this point that the accident occurred.  The engineer states that on arriving at this switch the forward trucks of the locomotive took the side track, while the driving wheels kept the main line.  This twisted the locomotive around sideways, when the tender broke loose from the engine, and with the rest of the train kept on down the main track until it reached a cattle guard about 20 yards further on, when something connected with the tender dropped down into the pit and impeded its progress, and the remainder of the train was derailed, several cars being piled up into a heap and smashed into splinters.  The engine was thrown over on its side and badly wrecked.  Mr. Cherrier, the engineer, stated that he was on the look out with his hand on the throttle and could see nothing wrong with the track ahead.  More.

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Updated 12 October 2022