MHM The Dugald Train Disaster - Winnipeg MB - Manitoba Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Tragically, on Labour Day Sept. 1, 1947 at 9:44pm, a westbound train, the 6001 Minaki Campers' Special, hit a stationary train, the 6046 Eastbound Continental in the town of Dugald killing 31 people. The train crew of 6001 were killed in the crash but the passengers were killed by the fire that quickly spread though the old gas-lit wooden cars. Eighty-one were injured in the crash. Only seven of the victims could be identified. Two were never recovered and the remaining 22 were buried in a mass grave here at the Brookside Cemetery.

Marker Name: The Dugald Train Disaster Agency: Brookside Cemetery celebrating 125 years Languages: English Location: Section C Brookside Cemetery 3001 Notre Dame Avenue Winnipeg Marker Text: The Dugald Train Disaster It was Monday, September 1, 1947, the Labour Day Weekend. Summer was at an end and cottagers from the Minaki area were packing up for the season and returning to Winnipeg for the opening day of school the next day. The Minaki Camper's Special 6001 was headed back west toward the city. In the opposite direction the No. 4 Transcontinental Special was on its way to Toronto. It paused at Dugald Station, located 14 miles east of Winnipeg. At 9:44 that evening, the Camper's train barreled at full speed into the waiting Transcontinental. The two locomotives became fused together. Rail employees were immediately killed by the impact. In the 13 passenger cars, mostly wooden, a fire raged, fueled by the gas tanks supplying fuel for the lighting. Thirty-one people perished. The tragedy wiped out almost everyone in three families - the Dixon, the Simpson and all but one of the Adams family. Sadly, the Dixon family all perished, while their home lay decorated for their son's wedding later that week. The funeral cortege was one of the largest in city history. Starting from Cook's Funeral Home in Transcona, the procession of 24 funeral cars moved east to downtown Winnipeg. It circled the Manitoba Legislative grounds and then moved west along Portage Avenue, and then to Brookside Cemetery. Florists and funeral directors donated their services. Of the 31 killed, 7 were identified and buried privately. Railway workers lost included: F. Skosgberg, Gilbert Rougeau. Jimmy Papkie and G.B. Lewis. Two bodies were never recovered. The remaining 22 were buried in a mass grave at Brookside Cemetery. One by one, the caskets were placed in the ground by Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officers. It was one of the wort disasters in Canadian Railway history. A desolate end to a happy summer. Section C Plots 280, 281, 289, 290, 296 & 297 Dedicated June 15, 2003 Website: [Web Link] Link to HistoricPlaces.ca or mhs.mb.ca: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/10/2014 PeterNoG visited it