Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1927 December 13 - Hull Electric streetcar collides with a bus in Hull.

Ottawa Journal 13 December 1927 Hull Tram Car hits Quyon bus at Eddy yards. Bus driver and one passenger have minor injuries from broken glass Both vehicles damaged by force of collision 50 persons, of whom five were occupants of a Quyon bus of the Gatineau Bus Lines, and the others passengers on a Hull electric car bound from Aylmer to Ottawa, received a shaking up this morning at 8.30 when the streetcar hit the bus broadside on the east side of the junction of the Aylmerr Road and the street railway tracks at the end of the Eddy Yards. No one suffered serious injuries. Hector Fortin, 25 Hyacinthe Street, Hull, bus chauffeur, received a few minor scratches from flying glass, as did also a woman occupant of the bus who would not give her name.   Bus damaged. Two front vestibule posts and three panes of glass were broken in the street car while the bus chassis was bent, the engine bracket broken on the left side smashed. Damage to the bus will amount to more than $2,000. This slippery condition of the road contributed largely to the accident as Hector Fortin, bus driver, reported he had started to apply his brakes 180 feet before the crossing as a precautionary measure. Skid marks show the bus of nearly four tons had gone about 60 feet on the slippery road when the brakes have been applied sharply as the street car was sighted. George Guertin,, Albert Street, Aylmer, was the motor man in the street car, and despite the fact that the three panes of glass in front of him were smashed he did not suffer any cuts or injuries. Hull Electric Report. The report of the accident as given by A. Meech, superintendent of the Hull electric, was to the effect that the Aylmer car had approached the crossing slowly and the Moto man had sounded both his gong and whistle. According to Mr. Meach, the motorman saw the bus as it started to skid on the slippery roadway and had immediately put the motor into reverse, fearing the bus could not stop. The bus had skidded to the east side of the track and been hit broadside by the front of the streetcar. Fortin's report. Mr. Fortin's report varies somewhat in details. He stated according to the Gatineau Bus Companies report, that he had been traveling towards Aylmer with three men and one woman as passengers. As he approached the crossing, where a high fence prevents a clear view of the street car tracks for any great distance, he started to apply the brakes 180 feet away as a precautionary measure. Mr. Fortin reported that the motorman of the street car, when he saw him, was looking in the opposite direction to see what traffic was approaching from Aylmer. When the motor man saw the bus, Mr. Fortin stated he quickly reversed his motor. Neither could stop, however, in time to prevent the accident. - Thrown 48 Feet. The bus was in the center of the track when it was struck by the streetcar. The force of the impact threw the bus a distance of 48 feet against the railing to the east of the car tracks over the Brewery Creek. The bus was struck broadside by the car at the center between the seats occupied by the chauffeur and the woman at the front and back on the left side. The woman was hurled across the bus into an opposite seat but she suffered no injuries except a few scratches from flying glass.

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Updated 29 June 2018