Hinton train collision

The Hinton train collision happened on February 8, 1986 in the town of Dalehurst, Alberta, Canada at about 08:40 am MST. It happened after the crew of a freight train didn't stop the train for a reason not known and the caboose conductor didn't stop the train. This caused their train to crash head on with a passenger train on the same track. In the disaster, 23 people were confirmed dead and 71 were injured.

The Hinton collision was the deadliest rail disaster in Canada since the Dugald rail accident in 1947. It would be surpassed in 2013 by the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster

In an investigation done by the Canadian government, Justice René P. Foisy would lead a 56-day public inquiry. The investigation would conclude that culture of railroading was to blame, rather than any single person. Intoxication was ruled out as a cause. Jack Hudson, the engineer of the Canadian National Railway freight train was a known heavy smoker, alcoholic and suffered from many health problems. This put him at risk of operating the train and having a heart attack or stroke. The commission put in charge of investigating the crash criticised CN Rail. They said that the company shouldn't have hired Hudson when they knew he had so many health issues. The commission also criticised the lack of communication between Hudson and the caboose conductor Wayne "Smitty" Smith, saying the Smith should have pulled the emergency brake. Smith would testify that he didn't think the train was out of control at the time.

The crash was featured in a season 3 episode of Mayday titled "Head On Collision".

 References 

Category:1980s disasters in Canada
Category:February events
Category:Railway accidents in Canada