Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

Ottawa Citizen 22 January 1897 THREE MEN KILLED FREIGHT TRAIN WRECKED ON THE PARRY SOUND RAILWAY. A Run-Off Above Barry's Bay, One Hundred and Ten Miles from Ottawa, in Which a Fireman and Two Brakemen Lose Their Lives. The unusual record of immunity from serious accident which the Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound railway has enjoyed since it opened for traffic, was broken last evening by a casualty which occured near Barry's Bay, resulting in the death of three train hands and the injury of another. The killed are: Charles Hutchison, fireman, aged 26, single. James Casselman, brakeman, aged 45, married. William Russell, in charge of store car, aged 35, married. The injured man is William Taylor, engineer, scalded about face and hands. The Disaster. The train to which the accident occurred was No. 60, way freight, which left Ottawa yesterday morning at 8:30, in charge of conductor Aris and engineer William Taylor. The train as it left Ottawa consisted of 27 laden cars, and was doubtless still a very heavy one when it reached Barry's Bay at 7.15 last evening. Four miles above Barry's Bay is a short side track, known as O'Brien's siding. It was here the disaster occurred. It appears that the train was running along at a moderate speed. Just as the siding was reached the engine jumped the track, through what cause is not yet known, although it is surmised that an open switch had to do with the run-off. Two cars were standing on the siding. Into these the derailed engine crashed and was thrown into the ditch, falling upon her side. Several of the cars following were also derailed and over-turned. When conductor Aris, who was in the van at the rear, reached the engine he found engineer Taylor groping about the cab blinded by scalding steam, and fireman Charles Hutchison crushed in between the engine and the embankment. With the assistance of the train hands the poor fellow was extricated. He was still conscious and able to speak but his injuries were of such a nature that he survived his rescue but a few minutes. Casselman, the forward brakeman of the freight, was also riding in the cab. When the crash came he was thrown over into the embankment and wedged in between the tender and the car following. He lived for an hour or so after being taken out and laid in the van, being quite conscious and able to speak a few words to his mates. He died, however, before the first relief arrived. Russell was badly scalded, but not until he was examined by the doctor at Renfrew, two hours later, was the extent of his injuries known. These, eventually, proved fatal, the patient expiring on the way down to Ottawa. So soon as the dead and injured were removed from the wreck a train hand was sent back to Barry's Bay for help. At that station there was a locomotive on the siding, and with a car attached she was dispatched to the scene of the wreck. This relief train made the return journey to Ottawa in quick time, only remaining at Barry's Bay long enough to land the bodies of Casselman and Hutchison at the station. Relief Sent Promptly. The run-off occurred at about 7.30, and at 9 o'clock word of the accident was briefly telegraphed to the train despatcher's office here from Barry's Bay. Measures were promptly taken to forward relief to the sufferers. A tool car special, in charge of Superintendent Donaldson, and having Dr. R. W. Powell on board, left for the scene of the accident at 11 o'clock. At Galetta the train was met which had been despatched down from Barry's Bay with the two injured men on board, Taylor and Russell. The latter were being attended to by a doctor who boarded the train at Renfrew. Russell was found to be fatally injured, and he died just before the train reached the Carp. Arrives at Ottawa. The train consisting of a locomotive and van, with the injured engineer and the body of Russell on board arrived at the Elgin Street Station at 12.45 this morning. Engineer William Taylor, accompanied by Dr. Powell, was driven in a cab to his house at 291 Nicholas Street. His face and hands were bandaged, but he stepped from the van without signs of weakness, and to the inquiries of a group of fellow-employees gathered at the landing, returned the cheery answer that he was all right. The doctor's report, while somewhat less sanguine, gave the impression that he considers the patient in no immediate danger. Homes of the Victims. The body of William Russell was taken to Roger's morgue where an inquest will probably be held. The news of his death was broken to his widow at midnight, at her home on First avenue, by a kindly neighbor. The poor woman's grief was uncontrollable. She is left a widow with two small children. For the intelligence of her son's death, Mrs. Hutchison was not holy unprepared. The telephone call from the Canada Atlantic office, sent about eleven o'clock, was for her husband; but somehow a premonition of the purport of the message it had been intended to give him, had he been at home, flashed across her mind. And so she dispatched a nephew down to the office in response to the message, remarking that she knew "something had happened to Charlie " a few minutes afterwards she learned the sad story of his death from two gentlemen, who had been sent to break the news. Chief Train Despatcher Duval, of the Booth system, having ascertained that the father of the dead boy, Mr. Charles. Hutchison, of 34 Kent street, was at Renfrew, communicated with him at once by wire so that he will be able to take the early morning train to Barry's Bay, where the body of his son lies, awaiting the coroner's inquest. Charles Hutchison was a bright young fellow, well thought of by his employers. He entered the service of Canada Atlantic about five years ago. Previously to that he was for a short time on the C.P.R. He was the nephew of Dr. Geo. Hutchison. The Other Victims. James Casselman, the brakeman, was the fourth of his family to perish in a railway accident, three brothers having been killed on the road at various periods during the past six or eight years. He was a married man, of 45 years of age, and lived with his wife and only daughter at 62 Cedar street. William Russell had for some time been employed at the freight shed on Elgin street; but laterally was in charge of the store car. It was in this capacity that he went out yesterday morning with his car to distribute stores to the several stations along the line. He resided at 44 First avenue, and leaves a widow and two children but poorly provided for. The remains of Casselman and Hutchison will be brought home to-day. Ottawa Journal  22 January 1897 Reprinted in the Almonte Gazette of 29 January 1897 An Open Switch Three Ottawa Men Meet death on the O., A. & P.S. A FOURTH BROUGHT HOME TERRIBLY SCALDED Fatal Accident last Evening Above Barry's Bay - A Freight Train Runs into a Siding, the Switch Being Open - Story of the Accidens [sic] by the Engineer - The dead The worts [sic] accident in the history of the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway occurred last night. Three Ottawa railroaders were killed and one very badly injured in a run off four miles above Barry's Bay, about 110 miles from Ottawa. The killed are: James Casselman, brakeman. Charles Hutchison, fireman, William Russell, in charge of store car. The injured man is William Taylor, the engineer, who is badly scalded about the face and hands. All tbe victims were more or less badly scalded by escaping steam, from the engine. Hutchison and Casselman died near tbe scene of the accident, within a short time and Russell died at Carp on a train which was bringing him to Ottawa. Russell's death was caused by scalding. Casselman and Hutchison died from other injuries. An Open Switch. The train to which the accident occurred was the regular way freight which left Ottawa yesterday morning, in charge of Conductor Aris and an Ottawa crew. At tbe time of the accident the train was made up of eighteen cars. About four miles above Barry's Bay there is a very short siding that will hold not more than half a dozen ears. A couple of flat cars were standig on this. From what can be learned the train which was running fast to get up a grade, ahead, encountered a wrongly set switch, rushed on to the siding and into the flat cars. The engine jumped the track, and turned over on its side in dropping down an embankment of three or four feet the tender was thrown round behind it and the freight cars were piled up in a horrible wreck. To make matters worse, considerable of the piping of the engine was wrenched out and the steam escaped in a blinding cloud. On the engine at the time was Engineer Taylor, Fireman Hutchison, James Casselman, head brakeman and Wm. Russell, who was in charge of a supply car, and who went into the cab to warm himself. Conductor Jas. Arts and second Brakeman Peter Tapp were in the van. Got Out of the Wreck. Taylor managed to grope his way out of the wreck but was very badly scalded. Russell, who was in a worse plight than Taylor, managed to get out, but both Casselman and Hutchlson were pinned down in the wreckage. Hutchison was conscious when extricated by train hands, but only lived a few minutes. Casselman was also conscious and lived for an hour after being carried into the van. A hand was sent back to Barry's Bay to apprise the railway employees there of the accident, and a locomotive and car were sent to the relief. The two bodies and the injured men were taken on board, and after the bodies of Hutchison and Cassehnan were left at Barry's Bay the train started for Ottawa with the injured men. In the meantime word of the accident was dispatched to Ottawa from Barry's Bay and a relief train in charge of Superintendent Donaldson and with Dr. Powell on board left Ottawa at 11 o'clock. The downward train was met at Galetta and Dr. Powell boarded it. His services were not required for Russell, who died about Carp, but the injuries of Taylor were attended to. When the train reached Ottawa Taylor stepped off without assistance and told his fellow workmen who were in waiting that he was all right. The Engineer's Story. Taylor was taken to his home at 295 Nicholas street, where he lives with his parents. He passed the night well. This morning he gave a Journal reporter an account of the accident. The train, he says, was running at a good rate of speed and the first thing that any one knew the crash came. The switch was wrongly set, he says, and the light was out. While at the other end the light was all right and was mistaken for the first light.  Taylor thinks that had the two cars not been on the siding there is a bare possibility of the train going on at one end and back to the main line at the other, but on such a short siding with a train running fast the chances of anything like this occurring were very remote. An Inquest Held. A jury was empannelled at Barry's Bay, and after the jurymen viewed the remains they were sent down to Ottawa. The remains of Russell were taken to Rogers' morgue on Nicholas street, last night and those of Hutchison and Casselman this morning when the train arrived. Superintendent Donaldson, Conductor Aris and Brakeman Tapp remained at Barry's Bay to attend the inquest. Mr. J. R. Booth. General Manager, E. J. Chamberlain, C. J. Smith, general passenger agent and Chief Train Despatcher Duval were in waiting at the depot this morning when the remains arrived. Dr. Mark this morning opened an inquest at Rogers' morgue on the body of Russell. The jury viewed the remains and adjourned. The following are the jury. J. H. Doherty (foreman). T. J. Seaton, Chas. E. Smith. G. P. O'Neil, J. Pratt, H. H. Lang, T. J. Martin. J. Fortier, L. E. Stanley, G. F. Mongan, S. P. Hemphill, H. Eagleson, F. H. Blackburn, R. B. Taylor, Jas. Dalglish, and S. Christie Coroner Mark will go to the scene of the accident on this evening's train to view the switch where the accident occurred. He Acted Bravely It is stated by the train hands that Taylor acted very bravely, and after getting out of the wreck, despite his bad scalding, started back to flag a train following. Chas. Hutchison, the fireman, was a well known young man. 26 years or age and a son of Mr. Chas. Hutchlson, commercial traveller of 38 Kent street. He was a nephew to Dr. Geo. Hutchison and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Independent Order of Oddfellows. The funeral will likely be private. The young man's father was absent from the city last night, when news of the accident arrived. A telephone message asking for Mr.Hutchison was sent and Mrs. Hutchison it is said was immediately struck with tbe beliet that something had happened her son. Wm. Russell, who was in charge of the store car was 32 years of age. He lived on First avenue and leaves a wife and several small children. She was informed of her husband's death about midnight and is heart-broken. Russell is a member of the Hornerite Church. James Casselman is also a married man and leaves a wife and daughter residing at 62 Cedar street. He is the fourth brother of one family to perish in railway accidents, three others having been killed at different times on the Grand Trunk. He was about 45 years of age. Ottawa Citizen 27 January 1897 SWITCH FORCED OPEN LATEST EVIDENCE TO THE PARRY SOUND ACCIDENT Detective Hatton Left Last Night to Arrest Two Suspects. They Were Seen Near the Fatal Siding. Inquest at Roger's Morgue. The inquest touching the death of the late William Russell, one of the victims in the recent accident on the O.A. & P.S. railway, was resumed last night at Roger's morgue. Although the jury deliberated for quite a while on the evidence aduced, no verdict was arrived at. This was owing to some of the jurymen desiring further information in regard to the distance at which the lights on the switch where the accident happened, could be seen by the employees on the approaching train. On this point the evidence was conflicting, and the jury thought it of sufficient importance to adjourn the inquest until February 3. In the meantime the jury, or some of them will visit the scene of the accident. Section Man Examined. James Stewart, of Barry's Bay, and section foreman of that district, was the first witness. He testified that he had left the switch where the accident happened, set for the main line, about four o'clock in the afternoon. He left the lamps at the switches on the east and west side of the siding, lighted. James Murray was with him. They left the place side by side. After the accident he found the lights out and the switch turned for the siding. Conductor Aris said he was in the van at the time. He assisted in getting the injured men out of the cab. He saw that the switch was open. Brakeman Tapp's Testimony Peter Tapp, brakeman, said he was in the van. He felt three distinct shocks and then the train coming to a standstill. He met Taylor, who said he was all right, and then helped to get the injured men from the wreck. He afterwards examined the lamp on the switch and found the wick turned down. Taylor ran a mile down the line to stop the next coming train. Dr. Powell was heard as to the condition in which he found Russell. Mr. Duval of the railway company, stated that he saw Mr William Taylor, the engineer of the ill-fated train, at his house, along with Coroner Mark, and Taylor said he would swear that the light was not burning at the turned switch. John Graham and Joseph Leslie, roadmasters, gave similar testimony about only the train men having keys for the switches on the road. They differ, however, on the distance at which the light at the scene of the accident, could be seen. Switch Forced Open. James Ogilvie testified that the switch was regarded as the best and most modern in use. The switch must have been turned by someone. A man with a crowbar could do it. There was no key used in the turning of the switch in question. Alfred Tague [sic] lighted the switch lamp after the accident. He found the wick in the lamp turned down. James Stewart, recalled said, he noticed marks on a track spike at the switch, as though it had been struck by a crow-bar. This was the last witness and the inquest was then adjourned. Arrests Will Follow. Detective Hatton left the city last evening to arrest Peter Clement and Charles Golgoleen, the latter a Pole, in connection with the accident. The men are engaged in a lumbering shanty near Barry's Bay, and it is said there is strong evidence to prove that they were in the vicinity of the siding a short time previous to the accident. The men, if arrested, and there is little doubt but what they will be, will be taken to the Renfrew gaol. Ottawa Journal 27 January 1897 THE SWITCH WAS LOCKED INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEATH OF WM. RUSSELL Suspicion that the Railway Accident on the O.A.& P.S. was Caused by the Switch Being Forced Open by Parties Unknown - Evidence at the Inquest Last evening The jury appointed to investigate into the death of the late William Russell, who was killed last Thursday night in the railway accident at Barry's Bay, on the O.A. & P.S., met last evening in Roger's morgue. No verdict was arrived at, as the jurymen after hearing all the evidence available decided they were not quite clear about the lights, and adjourned until next Wednesday evening to give time for some of their number to visit the scene of the accident to see just how far the lights at the switch, where the accident occurred, can be seen. The first to witness last evening was Mr. James Stewart, section foreman at Barry's Bay, near where the accident took place. He has been engaged, he said, on that section, No.  19, over two years. The section begins 1 mile west of Barry's Bay and ends 6 miles east. He was in charge of that section on the night of the accident, and had found and left the switch locked for the main line. It was his duty and that of his assistant under him to look after the lights at that siding. He had lighted the two lights, the east and the west, on the night of the accident, and was positive there was enough wick and oil in them to last as long as required. He left the siding at four o'clock that afternoon with Jas. Murray, and after going some distance, had looked back and seen the lights were burning all right. Murray had not gone back, so could not have undone anything without his knowing it. The switch turned. No trains had passed the siding, he said, from either direction between 4 o'clock that afternoon and 7.30 that evening. He heard of the accident about 8.15 that night, and went right up upon the hand car. He found the east light out, and the switch turned to the siding and locked. He and every train man had a key for that switch. When he got to the place of the accident he found four or five cars together, with the van and paymaster's car on the main line. The engine and some badly damaged cars were in the ditch. The east lamp went out once about a month before owing to the wick being too short. There being a curve near the siding, he could not tell if the lamp had been lighted whether the accident would have happened. Dr. Powell was next called. His evidence was not of much importance. He simply told about being called to go up on the wrecking train, and of his having met the injured man being brought down. Death was due to scalding and a severe shork [sic] Wm. Taylor, of 291 Nicholas street, the engineer was too ill to be present, so Dr. Mark and train despatcher Duval went to his house and received his sworn statement that the east light was not burning on the night of the accident it was not considered advisable to ask him any more questions. Mr. Duval, Chief train despatcher, stated the train to which the accident happened was behind time having left Ottawa 20 minutes late besides meeting with several delays on the way. Three Men Under the Engine. Mr. James Aris, the conductor on the wrecked train stated they had passed Barry's Bay about 7.15 the night the accident happened. He had felt three shocks, the third of which had stopped the train. He jumped out and ran to the head of the train and found the engine on its side in the ditch. He met Taylor who said the switch was wrongly set. He had found the three men Charles Hutchison, James Castleman and Wm. Russell under the engine. The lights at the switch could be seen at a distance of about 500 or 600 yards, and in time to stop the train if necessary. The light on the east switch was out and appeared to have been blown out. It was lighted afterwards and burned for about three hours. Peter Tapp, a brakesman on the train, corroborated conductor Aris' statements. The wick of the lamp, he said, was down and he had turned it up while some person, he thought it was a man named Teague had lit it. One of the brakemen had ran about a mile down the track after the accident and stopped an approaching train. The switch could be seen about 30 car lengths away. Mr. J. Graham, road master on the C.A.R. said from Mr. Stewart's evidence he considered he had done all his duties required him to do. Keys of a switch on a section, he said, are generally in the possession of all the men on that section, the section foreman and his assistants. When a man leaves his position he has to return his keys. Mr. James Ogilvy, locomotive foreman, considered the switch a safe one. If the east switch, he said, was set for a siding a train coming from the west would turn the switch back to the main line. A man with a good crowbar would be able to change the switch. Alfred Teague, of Ottawa East a shopman who went out upon the wreck train said he had lit the east lamp on the morning of the accident, with a torch and it had continued to burn. A brakesman had turned up the wick for him to light. Switch Forced Open. Mr. John Leslie was recalled and said that the switch after the accident showed it had been turned automatically and not by hand and without the assistance of a key. Mr. James Stewart was recalled and stated that although he had examined the switch he could not say whether it had been turned by a train hand or by the use of a crowbar. Mr. Duval, chief train despatcher of the O.A. & P.S. said that at the regular stations the agent has to look at the signal ten minutes before every train passes. There was nothing to prevent the east lamp in question from being tampered with. This concluded the evidence. Ice on the Lamp. While the jury was out considering a verdict, Mr. Donaldson, superintendent of the O.,A.  & P.S.,, who was present, mentioned what seems uan mportant fact that did not come out in the evidence. He stated that on the Thursday night of the accident it will be remembered there was a severe storm from the east. The sleet, he said, froze on the east side of the lantern glass, the side the train was coming from, making it almost impossible to see the light from that side at any greater distance than a few yards. When asked what could put the light out Mr. Donaldson stated that it might easily have been blown out by the force of air that would ensue on the sudden stoppage of a train going at 18 miles an hour. The wick having to be turned up, far [sic] a man to light with a torch, he said proved nothing as a torch could not light to wick unless it was turned up high. If a match had been used, he said, it would probably have lighted the lamp without the wick of being turned up. The jury weret out about three quarters of an hour before returning and asking for an adjournment. Several of the jurymen expressed displeasure with Dr. Mark when he tried to persuade them not to send any of their number up to the scene of the accident but to be content with the sworn statement of men who were up there. Ottawa Citizen 28 January 1897 THAT RAILWAY ACCIDENT Detective Hatton Arrested Two Men Near Barry's Bay Yesterday. Charles Golgoleen and Peter Clement, the two men whom it was stated in yesterday's Citizen would be arrested in connection with the Barry [sic] Bay accident on the O, A. & P. S. railway, were taken into custody yesterday by Detective Hatton. They were lodged in the Renfrew gaol, and their preliminary trial will take place on Monday. It is said that on the day of the accident the men drove heavy loads over the railway track contrary to the law against trespassing, and that the weight of the loads dragging over the switch displaced it. The men were teamsters drawing produce to a lumbering shanty in the vicinity. Kemptville Advance 28 January 1897 THE FIRST THREE VICTIMS FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT BARRY'S BAY. Train on the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Runs Into an Open Switch A despatch from Ottawa says:- The bodies of three men, who were killed in an accident on the Ottawa, Anprior, and Parry Sound railway, at Barry's Bay on Thursday night, were brought here on Friday morning. The killed are Jas. Casselman brakesman Chas. Hutchison fireman; Wm. Russell. in charge of the store car. The injured man is Wm. Taylor, the engineer, who is badly scalded about the face and hands. All the victims were badly scalded by escaping steam from the engine. Hutchison and Castleman died near the scene of the accident, within a short time, and Russell died at Carp on a train which was bringing him to Ottawa. Russell's death was caused by scalding. Castleman and Hutchison died from other injuries. Barry's Bay is 110 miles north-west of Ottawa. The train to which the accident happened was a regular way freight, which left Ottawa Thursday morning. At the time of the accident the train was made up of eighteen cars. About four miles above Barry's Bay, there is a very short siding, that will not hold more than half a dozen cars. A couple of flat cars were standing on this. The train, which was running fast to get up a grade ahead encountered a WRONGLY SET SWITCH, rushed on to the siding, and into the flat cars. The engine jumped the track and turned over on its side, dropping down an embankment of three or four feet. The tender was thrown around behind it, and the freight cars were piled up in a wreck. To make matters worse a considerable portion of the piping in the engine was wrenched out, and the steam, escaped in a blinding cloud. On the engine at the time were engineer Taylor, Fireman Hutchison, Jas.. Casselman, brakesman; and Wm. Russell, who was in charge of a supply car, and who went into the cab  to warm himself. Conductor Jas. Aris and second brakesman Peter Tapp were in the van, but escaped injury. The very highest praise is given to the engineer, Wm. Taylor. He was so badly scalded that it was impossible for him to assist in recovering the bodies, which were buried under the wreck. In this state he seized a flag, and made his way along the track for a mile, where he stood waving it, until he stopped an express train that otherwise would have collided with the wreck. The cause of the accident was an open switch, but there is some mystery as to how it happened to be left open. It is said that the wreck was caused by train robbers, who had expected the pay car would be attached to the train. An inquiry will be held as to the cause of the accident. Almonte Gazette 29 January 1897 AN OPEN VERDICT The party responsible for the accident on the Parry Sound Thursday night is not known. There is difficulty in finding out who is responsible for the wrongly set switch. Dr. Galligan held an inquest at Eganville Friday night, and sectionman Stewart, who had charge of the switch, swore that he set it for the main line and locked it some three hours before the accident. The light was left burning. The train hands on the wrecked train, who gave evidence, including conductor Aris and brakeman Tapp, swore that the switch was locked for the siding with the light out. It was also shown that many train hands are obliged to carry keys to fit the switch locks. This was all the light the jury had to determine whether the accident was due to negligence on the part of the switch man, or someone else or a deliberate and successful attempt at train wrecking. The jury accordingly brought in an open verdict, to the effect that the deceased met death through a run-off occasioned by a switch wrongly set by unknown parties. Dr. Mark, who will conduct the inquest on Tuesday night next into the death of Hutchison, went up over the line last night and saw the scene of the accident. He obtained a sworn statement from the section man, that will perhaps make it unnecessary to bring him down. Ottawa Citizen 29 January 1897 The engine derailed in the recent accident on the O.A. & P.S. railway has arrived in Ottawa and is now in the company’s shops being repaired.  It is greatly damaged.  The front portion is all smashed, and, what was once the cabin is now a jumble of broken wood and twisted iron.  How Taylor managed to escape is a conundrum with those who have seen the engine.  It is thought he must have been thrown out the cabin window before the tender had crashed into the cabin. Ottawa Journal 30 January 1897 TWO MEN UNDER ARREST CHARGED WITH CAUSING THE O.A. & P.S. RY ACCIDENT They are Shantymen Who Worked in the Vicinity of Where the Accident Occurred - Detective Hatton Placed Them in Renfrew Jail To-day - To be Tried on Monday Chas. Golgolene and Peter Clement have been arrested on the charge of displacing the switch whereby the accident on the O.A. and P.S. Railway occurred on Thursday last in which three men were killed. The arrests were made last night by Detective Hatton, and the men were placed in the Renfrew jail today. They will come up on Monday for their preliminary trial at Renfrew. Who the Prisoners Are. The men were working in a lumber shanty a few miles from the siding where the accident occurred. Both were teamsters and had occasion to pass the siding very frequently. It is said that on the day of the accident they were driving their teams along the railway track, contrary to the law against trespassing on railway property and the weight of their loads dragged over the switch, caused the switch to be displaced. When the train came along a short time afterwards it ran into the open switch into the siding with a fatal results already known. Prompt investigation. Immediately after the accident the railway company had an investigation opened. Detective Hatton was absent from the city several days looking into the matter. He traced the accident to these men and returned to the city. Last evening he returned to Barry's Bay and had the men put under arrest. Ottawa Journal 30 January 1897 The trial of Chas. Golgoleen and Peter Clement, the men arrested by Detective Hatton for causing the fatal railway accident on the O.A. & P.S. Railway, above Barry's Bay, will take place in Renfrew on Monday. Ottawa Citizen 1 February 1897 Mr. Donaldson of the O.A. & P.S. Ry., and Detective Hatton arrived in the city Saturday from Renfrew after completing arrangements for the prosecution of Charles Golgoleen and Peter Clement for moving the switch which caused the recent disaster at Barrys Bay.  It is said the men will admit having driven over the switch during the day of the accident, but as to whether they turned the switch or not in so doing they are unable to say. Ottawa Journal 2 February 1897 THE PRISONERS COMMITTED Gogoleen and Clement on Preliminary Trial in the O.A. & P.S. Switch Case   The preliminary examination into the charge against the men Gogoleen and Clement, of moving the switch which caused the recent accident on the Parry Sound Ry. was conducted at Renfrew yesterday. Detective Hatton was in attendance [sic] ton was in charge, arranging the evidence for the prosecution which meant to show that the switch must have been moved by these men drawing heavy logs across it. They were committed for trial Ottawa Citizen 4 February 1897 NOT IN A SAFE PLACE CORONER  MARK'S JURY ON THE O'BRIEN SIDING. The Jurors Also Express the Opinion That the Switch at the Fatal Siding is Not "Absolutely Safe." What a Railway Man Says. The inquest touching the death of Wm. Russell, who died while being brought to Ottawa from the effects of the scalding he received in the accident on the Parry Sound Railway on January 21st, was concluded last evening. Only two witnesses were examined at the sitting last night, Joseph Leslie, roadmaster of the Barry's Bay section of the Parry Sound railway, and James Ogilfe. After they had been heard Coroner Mark reviewed the evidence in a masterly manner. The jury was out some 40 minutes, returning with a verdict to the effect that the deceased succumbed to the effects of the scalding received in the accident, which had been caused by the switch being misplaced by some party or parties unknown. The verdict also included a statement that in the opinion of the jury the siding where the accident occurred was not in a safe place and also that the east switch was not absolutely safe. The Citizen asked some of the jurymen their reason for expressing the opinion that the switch was "not absolutely safe." The answer was that in a personal inspection they had found that the rails of the switch even when locked could be moved by a crowbar, and they did not think a switch "safe" when it could thus be tampered with. A railway official in answer to a question by the reporter stated that the switch was the most modern contrivance on the market and was in general use on all railways in the country. The verdict was signed by all the members of the jury, which was composed as follows J. H. Doherty, L. E. Stanley, S. P. Hemphill, F. J. Martin, J. Fortier, G. H. Morgan, I. Pratt, S. H. Eagleson, F. H. Blackburn, G.P. O'Neil, R. B. Taylor, James Dalglish, C. E. Smith, Thos, J. Seton, H. H. Lang and S. H. Christy. The evidence of the witnesses examined was to the effect that the runner of a laden sleigh, running parallel with the rails could change the position of the switch. It would of course, be a trespass for a teamster to drive along the railway at all. Mr. Ogilvie stated that he had to never seen a set switch forcibly moved by one person. He had tried to do so once, and succeeded, but only after much effort. Ottawa Journal 4 February 1897 A MISPLACED SWITCH Verdict of the jury regarding the death of Wm. Russell The inquest into the death of William Russell, who was killed in the accident on the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, was concluded last night. The jury found that the deceased came to his death in the accident caused by a misplaced switch. The verdict included a clause to the effect that the siding where the accident occurred was not in a safe place, and that the switch was not a safe one either. The jurymen afterwards expressed the view that they did not consider a switch safe when after being locked it could be moved by a crowbar. Mr. John Leslie, road master of the Barrys Bay section, and James Ogilvy, Foreman in the C. A. R. workshops, gave evidence last night. The evidence went to show that the running of a heavy sleigh parallel with the rails must have moved the switch. It was a trespass for a teamster to drive along the track. Dr. Mark summed up the evidence and the jury was about forty minutes in reaching a verdict. The jurymen will be paid at the county treasurer's office. Ottawa Journal 4 February 1897 Charles Gogoleen and Peter Clement, who drove across the track of the O.A. & P.S. railway, moving the rails, which was the cause of the recent disaster, have been committed to stand their trial at the Pembroke assizes. Clement is a resident of Arnprior. Ottawa Citizen 8 February 1897 LIBERATED ON BAIL The magistrate at Renfrew, who tried Chas.Gogoleen and Peter Clement, on the charge of driving over the switch near Barry's Bay, where the fatal accident occurred, "concurred in the view that there was no criminal intent on the part of the prisoners in driving through the switch, but he could do nothing but commit them and he did so." The prisoners have since been liberated on bail. Ottawa Journal 18 February 1897 AYLMER NEWS Peter Clement, one of the men accused of disturbing the switch at Barry's Bay, which resulted in the recent accident at that place, is an Aylmer boy. He is known in Aylmer as an upright, honorable and inoffensive young man, of excellent parentage, and one of the last that would be a party to any act that would endanger the lives of his fellows. Perth Courier 19 February 1897 Wm. Russell, who met his death at Barry's Bay Jan. 21, was insured for $3,000, of which $2,000 was with the United Workmen. Two months ago Russell joined the religious sect known as the Hornerites. Horner, who is head of the body, it is said, ordered Russell to give up all his insurance, as it was against the rules of the order. Russell did so, and his young wife and two children are now left penniless Ottawa Citizen 8 March 1897 BARRY'S BAY ACCIDENT The spring assizes will open in Pembroke tomorrow. One of thr more important cases will be the trial of the men Gogoline and Clements, in connection with the wreck on the O.A. & P.S. Railway, near Barry's Bay recently. Gogoline, it is claimed, is soliciting signatures through the upper country to a petition testifying to his good character from childhood. He has already secured over one hundred signatures. Ottawa Journal 12 March 1897 ARNPRIOR NEWS Our citizens were pleased to hear last evening that Peter Clement and his companion Charles Golgolin, had been acquitted at the Pembroke assizes. The charge was that of tampering with the rails which caused the late accident. There was no reason to show that either of the men had disturbed the rails. Clement is a well known resident of this town. Almonte Gazette 19 March 1897 At the Pembroke assizes last week , before Mr. Justice McMahon. The case against Peter Clement and Chas. Golgolin, arrersted in connection with the recent accident at Barry's Bay on the O.A. & P.S. Railway , was dismissed. Ottawa Citizen  22 May 1937 Three Men Killed Barry's Bay Wreck The unusual record of immunlty from serious accident which the Ottawa. Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway had enjoyed since it opened for traffic, was broken on the evening of January 21, 1897 (just 40 years ago) by a casualty which occurred near Barry's Bay resulting in the death of three train hands and the injury of another. Those who lost their lives were: Charles Hutchison. fireman: James Casselman. brakeman. and William Russell, in charge of the store car. The injured man was William Taylor, engineer, who was scalded about the face and hands. The train was a way freight. in charge of Conductor Aris and Engineer Taylor. The train as it left Ottawa consisted of 27 laden cars, and was still a fairly heavy one when it reached Barry's Bay at 7.15 in the evening. Four miles above Barry's Bay was a short side track, known as O'Brien's siding. It was there the disaster occurred. It appears that just as the siding was reached the engine jumped off the track. Two cars were standing on the siding. Into these the derailed engine crashed and was thrown into the ditch, falling upon her side. Several of the cars following were also derailed and overturned.