Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area
1898 December 5 - CPR Soo Express collides with freight cars on the main line at Pointe au Chene,
no injuries.
Montreal Star 5 December 1898 THE "SOO" TRAIN IN A SMASH (Special to the Star) MONTEBELLO, Que., December 5 - The Soo express which left Ottawa at 4.25, ran into a train of freight cars at Pointe au Chene about daybreak this morning. The engine of the express was thrown from the track and badly wrecked and three freight cars were smashed into splinters. The passengers on the express were badly shaken up and the engineer and fireman had a narrow escape. The express left Ottawa twenty-five minutes late and had been delayed still further by a violent wind storm which lasted all night. Just as dawn was breaking and the train was bowling along at the rate of forty miles an hour the engineer noticed a train of empty ears about five hundred feet ahead upon the main track The emergency breaks were applied, but the distance was too short. The engine of the express crashed into the freight cars smashing three of them into kindling wood. The locomotive left the track and turned partially on its side between the siding and the main track. Telegrams for assistance were sent to Ottawa and at ten o’clock a relief train arrived at the scene. The passengers were taken back to Montebello while the wreck was removed from the track. Ottawa Journal 5 December 1898 SOO EXPRESS IN A WRECK RAN INTO A FREIGHT TRAIN NEAR MONTEBELLO The Soo express which left Ottawa for Montreal at 4.25 ran into a train of freight cars at Pointe au Chene about day break this morning. The engine of the express was thrown from the track and badly wrecked, and three freight cars were smashed into splinters. The passengers on the express were badly shaken up and the engineer and fireman had a narrow escape. The express left Ottawa twenty five minutes late and had been delayed still further by violent wind storm. The freight cars were on the main track. Ottawa Citizen 6 December 1898 The Soo express, which left Ottawa for Montreal at 4.25 yesterday morning, collided with a train of freight cars at Point au Chene about daybreak. The engine and three freight cars were thrown from the track and badly smashed. The pasengers were shaken up severely, but no one was injured. A wrecking crew was sent out from Ottawa. |
Updated 27 November 2023