Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area
1942, December 31 - Calumet Rail Official Saves Tie Up at Vankleek Hill
Calumet Rail Official Saved Tie-up in Storm Bucks Through Blizzard Nine Miles to Vankleek Hill With Orders for Train Crews MONTREAL, Jan. 5 (Special) A Canadian Pacific Railway agent in the small town of Calumet, on the north shore of the Ottawa river, saved a complete tie-up of holiday traffic on New Year's Eve when he won a race against time and last Thursday's blizzard, it has been revealed by Canadian Pacific officials. The agent, E. Bergeron, went nine miles from Calumet to Vankleek Hill through the worst of the storm to deliver vital orders to train crews eastbound from Ottawa to Montreal, thus providing the key to start the unravelling of what at one time provised to develop into a major tie-up, with all trains inbound to Montreal unreported and all outbound trains being held at Montreal as a safety measure. Bergeron's dramatic dash took place while thousands waited in railway stations and railwaymen, waging a tremendous fight to keep lines open against the relentless enemies of snow, sleet and gale, were running up against a complete blackout of communications between here and the national capital. There was no answer from any of the lines resourceful transportation experts tried, and then C. G. Nuttall, transportation assistant to R.W. Scott, general superintendent of the Quebec district, got Calumet. By a whim of the storm god that north shore line was still functioning. Not for long it's true, but long enough for Mr. Nuttall, who once was a train dispatcher, to dictate orders to Agent Bergeron and charge him with getting them through. The blizzard was at its height when the agent started his nine-mile race against time. The roads were blocked, but he got through, bucking them first in a truck, then in a sleigh and finally winding up on foot. He got to Vankleek Hill ahead of the first eastbound train, to the conductor of which he delivered the orders. The rest of it was easier then. The eastbound trains were brought in, while westbound traffic was resumed with safety. The first train to go west was in four sections, first one of which was a snow plow. That, too, resulted from information going back to the Bergeron dash through the storm, for the first report which the superintendent's office had on the "blacked out" sections of the line came from the first eastbound train to arrive. Ottawa Journal 6 January 1943 C.P.R. Agent Prevents Tie-up By Wild Race Against Time Travels From Calumet to Vankleek Hill With Orders for Holiday Traffic MONTREAL, Jan. 5. A Canadian Pacific Railway agent in the small town of Calumet, on the north shore of the Ottawa river saved a complete tie-up of holiday traffic on New Year's Eve when he won a race against time and last Thursday's blizzard, it was revealed by Canadian Pacific officials. The agent E. Bergeron, went nine miles from, Calumet to Vankleek Hill through the worst of the storm to deliver vital orders to train crews east-bound from Ottawa to Montreal, thus providing the key to start the unravelling of what at one time, promised to develop into a major tie-up, with all trains inbound to Montreal unreported and all outbound trains being held at Montreal as a safety measure. Bergeron's dramatic, dash took place while thousand waited in railway stations and railwaymen, waging a tremendous fight to keep lines open against the relentless , enemies of snow, sleet and gale, were running up against a complete blackout of communications between here and the national capital. There was no answer from any of the lines. Transportation experts tried and then C. G. Nuttall, transportation assistant to R. W. Scott general superintendent of the Quebec district got Calumet. By a whim of the storm that North Shore line was still functioning. Not for long it's true, but long enough for Mr. Nuttall, who once was a train despatcher, to dictate orders to agent Bergeron and charge him with getting them through. The blizzard was at its height when the agent started his nine-mile race against time. The roads were blocked but he got through, bucking them first in a truck, then in a sleigh and finally winding up on toot after crossing the Ottawa river. He got to Vankleek Hill ahead of the first eastbound train, to the conductor of which he delivered the orders. The rest of it was easier then. The eastbound trains were brought in while westbound traffic was resumed with safety. First train to go west was in four sections, first one of which was a snow plow. That too resulted from information going back to the Bergeron dash through the storm, for the first report which the superintendent's office had on the "blacked out" sections of the line came from the first eastbound train to arrive. The whole storm period saw the maintenance of service made possible by the co-peration of all, from laborers to senior officials. Operation officials were on the job all New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Outside workers kept going under the worst possible conditions, for the sleet which snapped telegraph wires also sheathed these men in ice and they stopped only long enough to remove the armor of ice from their overalls before going back. Montreal Gazette 7 January 1943 Station Agent's Nine-mile Dash In Blizzard Breaks Railway Jam In a nine-mile dash across the frozen Ottawa River from Calumet, Que., to Vankleek Hill, Qnt.. a small-town, railroad agent carried orders to break the key train in the New Year's Eve stormbound railway traffic jam and allowed thousands of armed forces members and the general public to reach thair destinations, the Canadian Pacific Railway reported yesterday. In the face of a complete blackout in railway communications, the railroad officials say the trains en route between Montreal and the national capital were unreported and trains bound out of both terminals were held back awaiting reports. Through fortuitous circumstances the station agent at Calumet. E. Bergeron, was reached by the despatch office and he undertook the nine-mile trek through the blizzard to deliver the orders which would release the train held at Vankleek Hill. The details of the dramatic dash made by the station agent are not yet fully known but his successful effort allowed thousands stranded on stalled trains and in terminals and way stations to reach their destinations, albeit some hours late. By his action, Bergeron won a race against time and averted a complete tie-up in the already strained transportation crisis between the metropolis and Ottawa, railroad officials said. With trains "dead" on the rails, none of the communications the transportation experts tried functioned despite great efforts to keep the "lines" open. It fell to C. G. Nuttall, transportation assistant to R. W. Scott, general superintendent of the Quebec District, to win a smile from fate. In the relentless fury of snow and sleet lashed by a gale, the gods of the storm played pranks and left a single line open to Calumet, Que. "Not for long," say the railway officials., "but long enough to allow Nuttall, who was once a train despatcher, to dictate orders to Bergeron and to charge him with getting them through." The blizzard was at its height when the agent started his nine-mile dash against time. The roads were blocked but Bergeron managed to make part of the journey in a truck and another part of the journey was completed in a sleigh. After crossing the Ottawa river, the railroader continued his journey afoot. "He reached Vankleek Hill ahead of the first eastbound train," the Canadian Pacific Railway said. "He delivered the orders to the conductor. The 'key log' was broken in the traffic jam. The eastbound trains were brought in and the westbound traffic was resumed with safety." Railway Age 16 January 1943 Broken Telegraph wires resulted from a severe blizzard threatened for a time to cause a complete tie-up of traffic between Montreal and Ottawa on Canadian Pacific over the new year holiday. All trains inbound to Montreal were unreported and all outbound trains were being held at Montreal as a safety measure, when it became impossible to deliver train orders to train crews eastbound from Ottawa to Montreal. C. G. Nuthall, assistant to general superintendent of the Quebec District, managed to communicate with E. Bergeron, agent at the small town of Calumet on the North Shore of the Ottawa river, whose line was still working. The line worked just long enough for Mr. Nutthall, who at one time had worked as a train dispatcher, to dictate orders to Bergeron with request that he tried to get them through to eastbound train crews. Mr. Bergeron started off in a truck, eventually gave that up for a sleigh and finally finished his nine-mile journey between Calumet and Van Kleek Hill on foot. He arrived ahead of the first eastbound train and gave his orders to the conductor. Eastbound trains were brought in, while westbound traffic was resumed with safety. With the information regarding" black-out " section of the line secured from the crew of the eastbound train arriving at Van Kleek, the first westbound train, running in four sections and led by a snow plow, arrived at its destination without mishap. Similar accounts have been found as follows: 6 January 1943 Toronto Star page 11 column 2 7 January 1943 Hamilton Spectator, page 4 columns 7 and 8 Kingston Whig Standard, page 16 columns 5 and 6 Niagara Falls Review, page 1 column 8 North Bay Nugget, page 2 columns 4 and 5 The Sun Times (Owen Sound), page 12 column 8 The Standard (St. Catharines) page 15 column 4 8 January 1943 Calgary Albertan, page 13 column 3 |
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