247:
269:, then resident in Montreal, described the scene: "The cars were literally broken to pieces, and between the piers of the bridge lay the sunken vessels covered with the wreckage of the cars, amongst which were entangled the bruised and mangled bodies of the unfortune victims". One witness described the scene: "It seemed as if they had been placed under a press of enormous power and crushed into an unrecognizable mass of splinters and iron, mixed here and there with car wheels in every position, shreds of clothing, loaves of bread, bundles, and human bodies bruised, battered and covered with blood." A journalist from
314:, a young doctor from the British colony of Newfoundland who was visiting Montreal, was asked by George Fenwick, a surgeon at Montreal General, to assist with treating the injured. Roddick, who had been planning to go to Edinburgh for more medical studies, ended up staying in Montreal as a result of his experiences with treating the injured as Fenwick was impressed with his skills. Roddick became a prominent doctor in Montreal and was knighted by King George V in 1914 for his medical work.
31:
347:
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claimed that the signal was not clear enough for him to see. Burnie was convicted of negligence on 16 July 1864 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Burnie claimed that he did not know the route very well, but the fact that he admitted that he knew he had to stop his train before crossing the bridge was strong evidence against him.
243:
open and it needed to slow. However, the light was not acknowledged by the conductor, Thomas Finn, or the engineer, William Burnie, and the train continued towards the bridge from the east. Burnie's decision not to stop before the bridge was a violation of the safety laws in Canada East (modern-day Quebec).
305:
helped to pull the wounded out of the wreckage and makeshift hospitals were set up in buildings near the incident. Roger
Cloutier of the Beloeil-Mont-Saint-Hilaire Historical Society stated In 2013: "Several residents of Beloeil and surrounding towns came to lend a hand to rescue as many survivors as
242:
At around 1:20 a.m. local time the train was approaching the Belœil Bridge. The sky was clear that night. The swing bridge had been opened to allow the passage of five barges and a steamer ship. A red light 1.6 km (1 mi) ahead of the bridge signalled to the train that the crossing was
334:
the Grand Jury consider it their duty to reiterate their solemn conviction that the Grand Trunk
Railway Company of Canada are mainly responsible for the melancholy catastrophe of the 29th of June last, and the great destruction of life caused thereat, and that they trust the said Company will be
322:
The Grand Trunk
Railway tried to blame the disaster on the conductor and engineer for failing to obey the standing order to stop before crossing the bridge. The engineer, who had only recently been hired, claimed that he was not familiar with the route and that he did not see the signal. He also
309:
The hospitals and other institutions in nearby
Montreal were used for the injured passengers. Most of the injured were treated at the Protestant hospital and Catholic hospital, namely Montreal General and Hotel Dieu. Some of the most badly injured had to be treated at the railroad shed as they
282:
Survivors were rescued by the crews of the steamer and barges, who in some cases had to chop open the sides of the sinking boxcars. The Grand Trunk
Railway sent large numbers of men to assist the recovery and relief efforts the following day. The rescue effort was supported by members of the
228:. According to his own testimony the engineer in charge of the train, William Burnie, had been born in Glasgow in 1838, immigrated to Montreal at the age of 8, was employed by the Grand Trunk from 1858 onward, and had been promoted to the rank of locomotive engineer on 18 June 1864.
207:
The
British-owned Grand Trunk Railroad company had been founded in 1852 to provide railroads in what is now Ontario and Quebec. By the early 1860s, the cost of building the railroad system together with the failure to achieve expected levels of usage left the company deeply in debt.
273:
newspaper reported the scene: "A shapeless blue mass of heads and hands and feet protruded among the splinters and framework and gradually resolved itself into a closely packed mass of human beings, all ragged and bloody and dented and dinged from crown to foot with blue bruises."
258:
At 1:20 a.m. the train came onto the bridge and fell through the open gap. The engine and eleven coaches fell one after another on top of each other, crushing a barge underneath. The train and barge sank into an area of the river with a depth of 3 metres (10 ft).
1031:
1021:
188:
that travelled up and down the river. The Belœil Bridge was built as a swing bridge so that the railway would not interrupt the shipping lanes. The bridge connects the present-day municipalities of
527:
996:
262:
The crash killed 99 people aboard and approximately 100 more were injured. Among the dead were Finn and the engine fireman. Burnie was able to escape the wreck with slight injuries. The
335:
found amenable to tribunal for their shameful treatment of their numerous passengers on that occasion." However, the company was only given a reprimand for "inadequate supervision".
1026:
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239:, had not yet been developed for North American immigration, so the passengers were crammed into nine crudely converted box cars and one old passenger car.
1001:
1006:
330:
for the disaster on the Grand Trunk
Railway for negligence in failing to ensure all trains stopped before crossing the bridge as required by statute: "...
306:
possible". The financially struggling Grand Trunk
Railroad company, which feared a blot on its reputation, made a great point of assisting the victims.
365:
839:
Montreal
Witness, 8 October 1864, reprinted by Canadian Rail, The Magazine of Canada's Railway History, No. 471 July–August 1999 pp. 108–110.
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arrived in
Montreal. The dead were also brought to Montreal and buried in the Mount Royal and Roman Catholic cemeteries.
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164:. The widely accepted death toll is 99 people. The disaster remains the worst railway accident in Canadian history.
778:
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train carrying between 354 and 475 passengers, many of them German and Polish immigrants, was travelling from
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A sketch based on this photograph appears in magazine "Harper's Weekly" July 23, 1864 p.477
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193:
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69:
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236:
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694:"A tale of two train wrecks; One engineer was hailed a hero, another was jailed"
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221:
528:"MP-0000.1452.84 Richelieu River, Belœil Mountain, St. Hilaire, QC, about 1870"
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185:
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The passengers had arrived in a ship from the city-state of the
880:
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385:
McGill University for the Advancement of Learning: 1895–1971
250:
Contemporary drawing of the recovery effort, published in
35:
Photograph of the disaster by A. Bazinet & Co Montreal
184:. Tourism also greatly developed in the area due to the
404:
Ville-Marie Or, Sketches of Montreal, Past and Present
148:
occurred on June 29, 1864, at the present-day town of
1022:
Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger
196:, on its west bank. Other nearby municipalities are
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La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality
919:
721:. McCord Museum of Canadian History. Archived from
134:
126:
118:
113:
103:
95:
85:
75:
65:
45:
40:
23:
176:served as an important waterway for trade between
997:Bridge disasters involving open moveable bridges
235:the previous day. Specialized immigration cars,
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297:Irish Protestant Benevolent Society of Montreal
685:
683:
681:
679:
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675:
673:
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933:Shohola Township, Pennsylvania, United States
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387:. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
8:
827:
812:
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885:
877:
772:
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29:
20:
1027:Rail accidents caused by a driver's error
987:Railway accidents and incidents in Canada
779:"Beloeil a aussi eu son train de l'enfer"
713:
711:
635:
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492:
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152:. A passenger train fell through an open
366:List of Canadian disasters by death toll
326:On October 5, 1864, a grand jury placed
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469:Halliday, Hugh A. (18 September 2014).
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576:
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499:"The Immigrant Special, June 29, 1864"
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462:
460:
458:
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801:Ville-Marie, Or, Sketches of Montreal
7:
614:. The Montreal Witness. 27 July 1864
371:List of rail accidents (before 1880)
692:Kalbfleisch, John (21 March 1992).
530:. McCord Museum of Canadian History
497:Thompson, John (July–August 1999).
1002:Passenger rail transport in Quebec
777:Laramee, Isabelle (11 July 2013).
16:1864 train crash in Quebec, Canada
14:
293:St. Patrick's Society of Montreal
192:, on the river's east bank, with
952:
947:
473:. Historica Foundation of Canada
361:List of rail accidents in Canada
345:
289:St. George's Society of Montreal
554:"Grand Trunk Railway of Canada"
436:"Grand Trunk Railway of Canada"
1:
383:Brice Frost, Stanley (1980).
172:During the 19th century, the
1007:Rail transport in Montérégie
757:"Frightful Railway Accident"
162:failed to obey a stop signal
641:"Fearful Railroad Accident"
586:Library and Archives Canada
252:The Illustrated London News
1058:
992:Bridge disasters in Canada
612:"The Burnie Habeas Corpus"
285:German Society of Montreal
977:Railway accidents in 1864
942:
907:Railway accidents in 1864
28:
1042:1864 disasters in Canada
402:Sandham, Alfred (1870).
200:, on the east bank, and
927:Beloeil, Quebec, Canada
799:Alfred Sandham (1870).
108:Signal passed at danger
51:; 160 years ago
696:. The Montreal Gazette
255:
146:Beloeil train disaster
24:Beloeil train disaster
1012:History of Montérégie
863:45.54806°N 73.21000°W
558:Canadian Encyclopedia
249:
271:The Montreal Gazette
233:Free City of Hamburg
216:On June 29, 1864, a
204:, on the west bank.
1017:Disasters in Quebec
868:45.54806; -73.21000
859: /
471:"Railway Disasters"
406:. Montreal: Bishop.
328:full responsibility
90:Grand Trunk Railway
761:The Irish Canadian
649:The New York Times
592:on 4 February 2012
582:"Railway Disaster"
506:Canadian Rail #471
256:
80:Province of Canada
49:June 29, 1864
964:
963:
920:Location and date
815:, pp. 50–51.
719:"Keys to History"
508:. pp. 91–110
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99:Swing bridge open
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198:Mont-St-Hilaire
194:Beloeil, Quebec
174:Richelieu River
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160:after the crew
158:Richelieu River
150:Beloeil, Quebec
70:Beloeil, Quebec
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763:. 6 July 1864.
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746:, p. 169.
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652:. 30 June 1864
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552:Marsh, James.
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267:Alfred Sandham
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190:Otterburn Park
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61:1:20 a.m.
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785:13 September
783:. Retrieved
781:. Le Express
760:
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744:Sandham 1870
739:
727:. Retrieved
723:the original
700:13 September
698:. Retrieved
654:. Retrieved
647:
618:14 September
616:. Retrieved
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594:. Retrieved
590:the original
563:13 September
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154:swing bridge
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18:
866: /
729:11 November
534:18 December
264:numismatist
222:Quebec City
218:Grand Trunk
971:Categories
854:73°12′36″W
851:45°32′53″N
656:9 November
412:References
394:0773503536
186:steamboats
168:Background
119:Passengers
114:Statistics
56:1864-06-29
935:(15 July)
929:(29 June)
803:, p. 169.
318:Aftermath
302:habitants
156:into the
445:11 April
339:See also
295:and the
278:Response
226:Montreal
212:Disaster
182:Montreal
66:Location
909: (
596:29 June
512:29 June
477:29 June
135:Injured
122:354–475
76:Country
54: (
41:Details
391:
332:
299:. The
291:, the
287:, the
127:Deaths
644:(PDF)
502:(PDF)
377:Books
104:Cause
958:1865
945:1863
911:1864
787:2022
731:2008
702:2022
658:2008
620:2022
598:2012
565:2022
536:2008
514:2020
479:2021
447:2011
389:ISBN
180:and
144:The
86:Line
46:Date
224:to
138:100
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58:)
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