Desjardins Canal disaster
The Desjardins Canal disaster was a rail transport disaster near Hamilton, Canada West. The train wreck occurred at 6:15 p.m. on March 12, 1857 when a train on the Great Western Railway crashed through a bridge over the Desjardins Canal, causing the train and its passengers to fall 18 metres (60 ft) into the ice below.[1] With 59 deaths, it is considered one of the worst rail disasters in Canadian history.[2]
| Desjardins Canal disaster | |
|---|---|
 A sketch of the Desjardins Canal disaster. | |
| Details | |
| Date | March 12, 1857 |
| Location | Hamilton, Canada West, British North America |
| Incident type | Train wreck |
| Cause | Bridge collapse |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 90 |
| Deaths | 59[1] |
| Injured | 18[2] |
Recovery and rescue
The train had ninety passengers. Most in the last train car survived but others on the train either drowned or succumbed to injury.[1] Locomotive lamps and fires were built to illuminate the scene to aid in rescue efforts. Ropes and ladders were lowered to bring the dead and wounded out of the train cars. One car, partially submerged, was accessed with axes by rescuers.[1]
References
- "Desjardins Canal Disaster". Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. 1857-04-04.
- "10 of Canada's worst train accidents". Maclean's. 9 July 2013. and one of the deadliest bridge collapses in history.
Further reading
- Bonikowsky, Laura Neilson (March 12, 2013). "Great Western Rail Disaster". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- Freeman, Bill (2006). "Chapter 3: The Railroad Town (1840 – 1865)". Hamilton: A People's History. James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 978-1-55028-936-7.
- McIver, Don (2013). End of the Line: The 1857 Train Wreck at the Desjardins Canal Bridge. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 9781459702226.
