A rail disaster in late 1876 out of London ON travelling east
Toronto. In issue 17-3, Bob Wilson’s ‘image’ column features his article titled, “Terrible Accident on the Great Western Railway” and shows a stereo view of the 1876 wreck (see left).
Bob begins his tale, “The above title is the main headline that greeted the readers of The Globe [Toronto Globe and Mail] on Friday, October 6, 1876. At about one o’clock in the morning of October 5th, the night mail train of the Great Western Railway, with two engines pulling it, was travelling eastward from London.
“Just west of Princeton Station (which is just west of Paris, Ontario, on the line between London and Hamilton), one of the tender wheels on the lead engine broke in two. The broken half fell across the track derailing the second engine.
“The baggage car and two others were also derailed and caught fire. Five people died in the accident – two employees riding in the second engine and two employees and one passenger riding the baggage car. The 250 other passengers on the train suffered nothing beyond minor scratches.”
The disaster was captured in stereo and printed on stereo cards by a small company in NY state. The whole story and the image are on the PHSC DVD sent to all members. Hey! It’s easy to join (and cheap) – just follow the direction under ‘MEMBERSHIP’ above and/or ‘Membership – Join or Renew!’ at left. Email any questions to Lilianne at member@phsc.ca.
