New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-03-23
Particulars of the Accident on the Great
vs. Western Railroad. AHA g.

From the New York Tribune of the 18th, we extract
the particulars Of the disaster which took place
the 18th inst, on the Great Western Railway, Can
ada: z,5s, ..t&: - -. s,s@sa;- : 7=-
The accident occurred on the Great Western Rail-
way at the bridge over the Des Jardines Canal which
is elevated some sixty feet above water. The bridge
swings, and it spposed that the train which passed
for the East short time before had sunk the bridge
much that the-loc6motiye OF thisstrain was OBJ
structed by the abutments to such degree that the
passenger cars were raised up and thrown into the
canal s--- l,,., o. ~ - e.
The train was the local accommodation from To-
ronto to Hamilton. and left Tor1nto at 4 O'Clock yes
terday afternoon: The number,of passengers was
timated at from sevent FIVE tgohe hundred of whom
only fifteen taken alive the wreck, and of
those five have since died. - w az So
=; The water in the canas eighteenfeet Deep and all
those not Immediately killed were drowned. ------~
The engine and tender, with ehgineer and fire.
..nan. Wess fIthed headlong into the canal and are
T'bured twenty feet below the surface. The baggage
car and two passenger completely shattered,
and of the latter turned bottom side upwards and
| nearly submerged. ,..a. t4zf IT,
When our informant arrived this morning. the par
ties were still busy in extricating the bodies from the
wreck. In an clubhouse adjoining the statonhouse at
Hamilton, about fifty sixty corpses of men,
and children were laying on one floor. No inquiry
| into the cause of the accident had yet been held.
Most of the passengers were from Hamilton, To-
ronto, and the adjoining towns. Samuel Zimmerman,
Of Niagara Falls; Isaac Buchanan, of Hamilton
Vice President of the road; and Capt. Twoley, a
popular commander on Lake Ontario, are among the
| victims Only one of the lady passengers was
saved, and she was much cut and bruised. A Ger
man lad in the hind car seeing the conductor hastily
retreatng to the back door, took alarm and followed
him. and he the conductor and three others the
only ones who escaped with trifng injuries. Mr.. C.
j. Bridges, the managing director OF the railway
DR.. Macklem, of Canada West; and Thomas G..
Street of Chippewa, were on the train and although
considerably injured escaped with their lives.
Here follows list of the killed. The following is
from the Rochester American of the 18th:
The bridge that the cause of this horrible ac-
cdeut treste bridge, and it is asserted by some
of the passengers with whom we conyersed that it
was entirely too fragile construction originally.
How that may be, we unable to say. 1t is proba-
BILE that had the train been going at greater rate of
speed, it might have gone safely over it. The whole
floor of the structure went down under the weight
| that was upon it. -sa..
1t is probable that had the cars been coupled as
! they upon the Central and other roads in the
United States the rear car might have been saved by
the breaking or wrenching off of the couplings, as
| the brakes were vigorously applied as soon as the
alarm was given, and the train going at very
slow rate but unfortunately the cars on the Great
Western Railway are not only coupled, but chained
| together by two heavy chains, one each side of
the bumpers, about six inches from them. The con-
sequence is that the cars cannot get apart unless
both of these as well as the couplings give way.
This accident is Of the most destructive in its
effects if not the most destructive, Of any that has
ever happened on the continent. Its whole magni-
| tude is not as yet known.
When the train ran off the track person, sup
posed to be the conductor, cried out, jump!' and
he the baggageman and brakeman did jump, and
were saved We are also told that a female with q
child jumped from the train just it plunged into
the chasm, struck upon the ice below, and was soon
after seen climbing up the bank There were but few
ladies' the train and this is said to be the only
saved.
Among those on board was Samuel Zimmerman
the great railway king of Canada, and he perished.
His death will be disastrous blow to the business
| interests of the province.