Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1928, 10 October - C.P.R. eastbound transcontinental train is derailed at Ottawa Union station. No Injuries

Ottawa Journal 10 October 1928 C.P.R. MAINLINE TRAFFIC UPSET BY DERAILMENT One Hundred Feet of Track Torn Up At Ottawa Station. PASSENGERS FELT ONLY SLIGHT JAR The engine and two cars of the crowded C. P. R. Transcontinental train from Winnipeg were derailed at 5.05 this morning immediately under Connaught Place at Union Station. More than 100 feet of track were torn up and for more than three hours the main line was put out of commission. There were no casualties, perhaps owing to the fact that the Western train was going only eight miles an hour when the accident occurred. The derailment took place just in front of a switch, almost immediately under the eastern exit of Connaught Place, and the engine and cars left the track on the station side of the line. Are Probing Cause The tracks at this point are about 30 feet from the Rldeau Canal, from which they are protected by a cement wall. The through mail and baggage cars were derailed, but the diner, which was the next car to the baggage carrier, remained on the track. No cause has been assigned for the accident, but an investigation is proceeding under the direction of District Superintendent J. K. Hughes of the C. P. R. For three hours all C.P.R trains had to be rerouted on the line via Hurdman's Bridge. The first train to pass the repaired track was the early morning Gatineau train at 8.05. Up to noon workmen were still engaged in repairing the tracks Little Excitement H.Z. Hudson, of Winnipeg, who was a passenger on the train, told The Journal there was only a slight jar which (sic) the engine and cars left the track Mr. Hudson, who is stopping over in Ottawa for a few days, said many of the passengers thought the train had pulled up at the train platform, and there was no excitement. C.P.R officials almost immediately made arrangements for the re-routing of passengers to Montreal and eastern points. Ottawa Citizen 10 October 1928 Imperial Limited in Slight Derailment , Passengers Unaware That Anything Had Gone Wrong. The Imperial Limited over the Canadian Pacific Railway, en route from Vancouver to Montreal, was considerably delayed at 5.20 o'clock this morning, when the big locomotive drawing the long train became derailed partly, when entering the city yards. The train fortunately was only travelling about eight miles an hour on its approach to the station, when the engineer, Mr. P. Kelly, noticed the engine swerving and brought the train to a stop within an engine's length. It was then discovered that the driving wheels of the engine had left the tracks, presumably due to a broken rail, and that the mail and express cars had also been derailed. So slight was the jar subsequent to the derailment that the passengers were unaware that anything untoward had happened. The C.P.R. wrecking crew was soon on the job and by 8.10 the engine had been replaced, the tracks renewed and the "all clear" signal given.

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Updated 18 December 2020