Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area
1897, September 13, The Toronto express runs through an open switch at Sharbot Lake, no injuries.
Kingston Daily News 15 September 1897 Accident At Sharbot Lake A Locomotive and Four Cars Derailed - An Open Switch Ottawa, Sept. 14.- the C.P.R. Toronto express, due here this morning at 5:50, did not arrive here until 1 p.m., having run into an open switch at Sharbot Lake at 6 a.m. The locomotive and four cars were derailed, but two coaches were pulled back on the rails. The switch had been opened to let out the K. & P. train, and not closed. The Toronto express was three hours late and the switchman cannot have known that, and imagined she had gone by. The engineer saw the switch open about forty or fifty feet away and put on the brakes; otherwise the accident would have been much more serious. A switch was built around the wreck and the train sent on. Among the passengers were Messrs. William German, M.P.P., A.W. Ross, ex-M.P., and John Shields, contractor. Almonte Gazette 17 September 1897 The Toronto express ran into an open switch at Sharbot Lake on Monday last, and escaped a smash up only by the presence of mind of the driver who applied the emergency brakes. |
Updated 7 October 2023