Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area

Image provided by Bob Meldrum  Ottawa Citizen 5 July 1976 CP Rail line at Perth closed after spectacular derailment Canadian Pacific Railroad crews are working today cleaning up the aftermath of a train derailment along the main line four miles east of here. Thirty cars of a 94-car freight train bound for Montreal from Toronto went off the tracks about 11:30 p.m., Sunday. The freight cars were piled two and three high in places. CP Rail officials said that there were no dangerous comodities being carried by any of the derailed cars. Most of the cars contained wood products. There have been no estimates made of the damages caused to the rail line and the cause of the mishap has not yet been determined. Thousands of feet of track were torn up by the derailment leading to the closure of the line for at least 24 hours. Railway officials also said there were no injuries in the mishap. In a later edition Perth.  Canadian Pacific Railroad crews are working today cleaning up the aftermath of a train derailment along the main line four miles east of here. Thirty cars of a 94-car freight train bound for Montreal from Toronto went off the tracks about 11.30 p.m. Sunday.  The freight cars were piled two and three high in places. CP Rail officials said that there were no dangerous commodities being carried by any of the derailed cars.  Most of the cars contained wood and building materials. There have been no estimates made of the damages caused to the rail line and the cause of the mishap has not yet been determined. Five hundred feet of track were torn up in the derailment.  CP Rail spokesman Herb Brookes said that they hoped to complete repairs by midnight tonight. Meanwhile all freight deliveries between Toronto and Montreal have been postponed. Railway officials said there were no injuries in the mishap. Ottawa Journal 5 July 1976 30 rail cars jump track near Perth PERTH (Special) No one was injured when 30 cars of a 94-car CP freight train were derailed near here about midnight.  Perth OPP said a "hot box" in one of the cars caused the derailment. A hot box occurs when the gears overheat and jam causing the wheels to seize. Damage to the rail line is extensive, police said. The line will be closed for at least 24 hours until heavy equipment can clear the debris. Eugene Kirkham writes (January 2022) I was at this wreck. Comes with a story: I was filling in on Dad’s shift one week [CWR plant]. It was the afternoon shift. I usually rode with Dad when we were on the same shift. Dad was a keener and liked to go to work early. Sometimes we would drop off in Perth to see Gramma. It was a Monday and Dad said he wanted to go to work earlier than usual. What? He wanted to see a train wreck just outside of Perth. Great! We left for work early to see this train wreck. When I got there, I looked down the tracks. I didn't see a train wreck, just a rock cut on each side of the tracks. When I asked Dad if the wreck was past the rock cut he said “look closer, that's not a rock cut. It's a pile of box cars.” Yikes! Thirty cars of a 94-car freight train bound for Montreal from Toronto went off the tracks about 11.30 p.m. Sunday.  The freight cars were piled two and three high in places. A train going off the tracks at 60 miles an hour can really make a mess. Work crews had worked all night and that morning on the wreck. They had just cleared the tracks for traffic and one of the first trains was going through. What luck! When the van approached us, Dad said "I wonder if I know anyone on this train?" I thought "yeah right". But when the van passed by us, Dad says to the guy standing on the back of the van "Ernie, how the hell are ya?" The guy replies "God damn it Earl. I haven't seen you in years". Dad knew everyone on the CPR. He also worked with everyone on the CPR. I was convinced." The wreck was caused by a hot box. The police chased the train with lights flashing from Perth hoping to stop it but to no avail. The tracks veer away from highway 43 at one point.