| Onawa train wreck | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | December 20, 1919 |
| Time | 7:14 a.m. |
| Location | Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County, near Onawa, Maine |
| Coordinates | 45°22′14″N69°24′35″W / 45.37056°N 69.40972°W Coordinates: 45°22′14″N69°24′35″W / 45.37056°N 69.40972°W |
| Country | United States |
| Line | International Railway of Maine |
| Operator | Canadian Pacific Railway |
| Incident type | head-on collision |
| Cause | mis-reading of train orders |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Passengers | 300 |
| Deaths | 23 |
| Injuries | 50 |
The Onawa train wreck was a fatal railroad accident that happened two miles west of Onawa, Maine on December 20, 1919, and killed 23 people. [1]
Onawa is a populated place in the U.S. state of Maine. Onawa is located next to Lake Onawa and lay along the former route of the International Railway of Maine. In 1919, a major train wreck occurred two miles west of the Onawa railway stop.
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.
The line concerned was constructed and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway, known as the International Railway of Maine it crossed the state and provided a shortcut between the Canadian cities of Montreal and Saint John, New Brunswick. [2] On the morning of 20 December 1919, Train No. 39, an eleven-car immigrant special bound for Montreal, was moving west in four sections. Third 39 carried steerage passengers from the liner Empress of France which had docked in Saint John the previous day; [3] a few Canadian soldiers and 300 immigrants, mostly English and Scottish. [4] By the time Third 39 departed Brownville Junction at 6:25 a.m. it was running over five hours late. [3]
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), also known formerly as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, and known as simply Canadian Pacific is a historic Canadian Class I railroad incorporated in 1881. The railroad is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
The International Railway of Maine was a historic railroad constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) between Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and Mattawamkeag, Maine, closing a key gap in the railway's transcontinental main line to the port of Saint John, New Brunswick.
Montreal is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the second-most populous municipality in Canada. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. It has a distinct four-season continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold, snowy winters.
Freight train No.78 had departed Megantic at 6 p.m. the previous evening. It consisted of 26 cars [3] and had been waiting on a siding at Moosehead where it had allowed the first two sections of No.39 to pass. [5] It had received orders it was five hours ahead of Third 39; giving it plenty of time to reach Morkill, it left Greenville at 6:40 a.m. and arrived in a siding at Morkill at 6:57 a.m. At Morkill further orders were received to the effect that Third 39 was late, and Fourth 39 was eight hours late. This order was misread and the freight train mistakenly believed that Third 39 was now running eight hours late, giving them time to reach Brownville Junction before the end of their 16-hour shift. [3]
Lac-Mégantic is a town in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Lac Mégantic, a freshwater lake after which the town was named. Situated in the former Frontenac County in the historic Eastern Townships, Lac-Mégantic is the seat of Le Granit Regional County Municipality and of the judicial district of Mégantic.
Moosehead Lake is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine and the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States. Situated in the Longfellow Mountains in the Maine Highlands Region, the lake is the source of the Kennebec River. Towns that border the lake include Greenville to the south and Rockwood to the northwest. There are over 80 islands in the lake, the largest being Sugar Island with the almost as large Deer Island to the west.
Greenville is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,646 at the 2010 census. The town is centered on the lower end of Moosehead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the state. Greenville is the historic gateway to the north country and a center for outdoor recreation in the area. Greenville High School, with 89 students, was ranked as the third best high school in Maine and one of the top 1,000 in the US in 2010.
At 7:14 a.m. as dawn approached the trains collided head-on just west of Onawa station on a curve beside Little Greenwood Pond [5] at a combined speed of 50 mph. The baggage car next to the engine was 'entirely demolished'. The next passenger car telescoped the one behind it for two-thirds of its length. [6] The wreckage then caught fire, adding to the horror. [1] Seventeen people were killed outright, including six children, and the enginemen and firemen of both trains, with six more dying after being freed from the wreckage. [1] Fifty people were injured, many seriously, and were taken by special train to hospitals in Brownville Junction and Bangor. [4]
Bangor is a city in the U.S. state of Maine, and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 33,039, making it the state's 3rd largest settlement behind Portland (66,882) and Lewiston (36,221).
