, 1934-12-26
PERISH
Continued From Page onel

the excursion train. v$~ch had been
switched onto a siding because OF
a hot box. we're crushed and
many passengers. screaming IN
agony, were pinned for hours BE-
meath the wreckage.
The alertness and quick thinking
of Engineer 3. Burrell of the speed
ing train from Detroit. No. IS, was
credited by railway officials with
having averted an even greater
tragedy.
Seeing no hope OF preventing the
locomotive from piling into the
rear OF the special train Burrell or
dered 1t cut loose from the coaches
behind, which prevented them from
telescoping.
In contrast to the terrific crash
when the giant engine struck the
wooden coaches, there was only q
slight Jar when the express cars
rolled up to the wreckage.
Hailed as a hero Of the disaster
was w. c. Rice OF Toronto. Al
though badly injured. Rice, a pas
senger, removed six passengers from
the splintered coaches before COL
lRpsing.
special trains, buses and am
balances were pressed into service
To bring the dead and injured 70
Hamilton.
II can't for the life Of me see
how anyone could have been IN those
coaches and lived" said Douglas
Mackie. a survivor. 1T was SIM
NV horrible. The screams OF the
injured we're inter-mixed with the
confused shouting Of those from
the other coaches.
A third coach Of the excursion
train was thrown upon its end, dan
eerously near a $50 foot bluff.
John Kennedy. fireman Of the ex-
press which normally runs through
Dundas at a speed Of about 10 miles
an hour, said he was unable to ex-
plain the cause of the collision.
w. A. Kingsland, vice president
and general manager, central re-
gion. Canadian National railways,
issued the following statement:
at 9:2l o'clock last night. train
No. is en- route from Detroit to
Toronto and points east, ran into
the rear end Of q passenger extra
en- route from London TO Toronto.
at Dundas siding. resulting IN three
cars on the rear OF the passenger
extra being badly damaged.
Immediately word Of the acct
dent was received. General Superin-
tendent r. G. Hudson. at nee or
dered q special hospital train with
doctors and nurses and ambulances
we're also dispatched TO the scene.
The injured were Immediately con-
veyed 70 the general hospital at
Hamilton.
Special auxiliary trains from
London and Hamilton were likewise
ordered. and superintendent Pig
goot Of the London division. pro-
ceeded TO take active charge OF the
situation. 49,
The cause OF the accident was re-
ported as being an open switch
The stationary train was showed
along the tracks for several hun
dred feet in the collision.
At the point where the crash &C.
CURED the railway line skirts the
escarpment Of the Dundas valley.
The engineer Of the second train
threw on his brakes when he saw
the standing train on the siding.
but 1t was too late 10 do more than
slow down the impetus of the speed
ing train.
The real coach Of the first train
was hurled upon the top OF the
locomotive Of the express. its wood
work demolished.
A dozen men. using axes by toch-
light, worked for two hours before
they could remove a man who was
pinned underneath the rear Of the
car.
He was partly conscious when
taken from the wreckage. his face
blackened by cinders and burns.
his clothes torn to ribbons and his
hands crushed.
Doctors. who were rushed 10 the
scene from Hamilton and other
nearby points. gave him stlmulantS.
Donald McFarlane OF Hamilton.
comptroller OF the city, who was
one OF the first to arrive on the
scene. said eight bodies lay in one
coach while others in the second
coach OF the holiday special. were
hidden from sight. The two cars