Dugald railway accident

The Dugald railway accident was a head-on collision between two passenger trains in Dugald , Manitoba , Canada on September 1, 1947, killing 31 people.

Starting position

The transcontinental route of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was only built on a single track near Dugald . The points in Dugald could only be set by hand.

Here two trains ran in opposite directions: Train No. 4, a transcontinental long-distance train, was traveling eastwards and was classified as having priority. Train No. 6001, a special train , ran in the opposite direction . After original timetable the trains would at other stations cross should. However, the crossing was subsequently moved to Dugald, and the locomotive drivers of both trains received corresponding written driving orders . Then the special train in Dugald should go to the crossing track and let train no. 4 pass by.

At that time, the CPR was still using older-style passenger cars with wooden bodies and some with gas lighting . Nine cars of this older design were carried on both trains.

the accident

However, train no. 4 reached Dugald station first, stopped on the continuous track - as planned - and waited for the special train coming on the opposite side. Instead of stopping the special train in front of Dugald station so that someone from the train staff could switch the switch to the overtaking track, the engine driver of the special train drove into the station at around 50 km / h, where the two trains collided. In particular, the wagons with wooden superstructures were badly damaged and caught fire from the fuel for the gas lighting.

consequences

31 people died, 85 were also injured. As a consequence of the accident, at the CPR, the wagons with wooden superstructures were replaced by those made entirely of steel.