Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

1964, April 27 - CNR Supercontinental hits a car at a crossing at Foresters Falls, no injuries

Ottawa Citizen 28 April 1964 Conductor's last trip and his first accident By Bryan Goodyer Citizen staff writer Normally the Canadian National Capreol-to-Ottawa run is an uneventful one. But for conductor Albert Seguin of Gatineau, Monday afternoon's trip was anything but. "I was bragging all day from Capreol," recalled the 65-year-old conductor who retired yesterday. "I've been 47 years and four months with Canadian National and in that period I've never had a serious collision or a bad derailment," he said. Then it happened. The CNR's Supercontinental struck a car at a level crossing at Foresters Falls near Renfrew as conductor Seguin's last run neared its end. The train demolished the car. hurling it into a ditch next to the village's station. Fortunately, the driver, Duncan Gilchrist. 31, of RR 6 Pembroke, alone in the car at the time, was unhurt. "We were doing 45 miles an hour when we hit him," said Mr. Seguin. "I made the investigation myself." "I thanked God that no one was hurt," the veteran conductor said. The accident meant that train Number One didn't arrive in Ottawa until 3 p.m., almost two hours, or 110 minutes by Mr. Seguin's reckoning, behind schedule. The 65-year-old conductor climbed down where he was met by CNR president Donald Gordon who congratulated him on his 47 years of service. Did Mr. Gordon ask the conductor why he was so late. "Didn't even mention it," replied Mr. Seguin with a chuckle.

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Updated 20 March 2020