Thursday, March 15, 1917, Vol. 54, No. 11 The Barrie Examiner Page 1, col. 5

Head-on collision three fatalities

E. H. Firman and A. Thornbury of Allandale and A. L. Barclay, mail-clerk, lost their lives.

A head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight occurred near Utterson on Friday afternoon with a resultant loss of three lives. The dead are E. H. Firman, engineer, his fireman, Albert Thornbury, and A. L. Barclay, mail-clerk.

Passenger train No. 41, which is due to pass through Barrie at 11.05, had orders to meet a freight at Utterson. The operator at Utterson neglected to put out the board to hold the passenger train, and in some unaccountable manner the crew also forgot the order, so No. 41 pulled out of Utterson without thought of the freight that was speeding towards them. A mile and a quarter north of the station there is a double curve at the south end of which is a deep rock cutting. This is at the bottom of a fairly stiff grade. At 3.05 the passenger emerged from the cut, just as the freight came around the other part of the curve. When the trains came in sight of each other, not more than 150 feet separated them, the passenger running about 20 miles an hour and the freight which was speeding up to make the grade doing 25 miles or more. Like a flash the engineers applied the emergency brakes and prepared to jump. In the cab of the freight engine were Engineer Sam North, Fireman W. E. Gough and Brakeman V. Lawrence. All three jumped clear, landing in snow four feet deep, as they struck the snow the engines came together with terrific impact, the noise of which was heard over six miles away. It is thought that the side curtains on the cab impeded the egress of Engineer Firman Thornbury of the passenger train, so that they did no have a chance to save themselves. The fireman, caught between the cab and tender, was crushed from head to feet, being driven right up against the boiler. With him death was probably instantaneous. At the other side of the cab, the engineer also was jammed agsint the tender, but not in such a way as to crush him, as he had no bones broken. For some minutes he could not be located and he was found partly buried coal from the tender with the escaping steam from broken pipes all about him. He was scalded considerably and it is thought inhaled some steam. This with the terrible shock to his nervous system rendered him in such condition that the attendant physicians were doubtful if he would survive till the special, conveying him and the injured mail-clerk, reached Barrie. it arrived at eleven o'clock and the injured men were at once removed to the hospital. Towards morning Mr. Firman rallied so that he was able to talk to his family, but the improvement was only temporary and he died on Saturday at 3.45 p.m.

Next the passenger engine was the mail car in which were working two clerks, A. L. Barclay of Camperdown and Chas. Gilbert. As the weight of the heavy train was driven against the engines, the mail car was telescoped by the tender which bored into it fully twenty feet, the roof going on top of the tender and the bottom of the car beneath it. Barclay, who apparently was working in the front end of the car, was swept into the wreckage and terribly crushed. When his dead body was found, on hand held a string with which he no doubt was tying up mail when the collision crumpled up the car.

His companion was more fortunate. When the car was piled up on the tender, he was buried in the wreckage. At first, no trace of him could be found, but finally his calls for help attracted attention. Heavy timbers and other debris lay across the lower half of his body and his liberation was a tedious matter, as the timbers had to be chopped away and the car jacked up to secure his release, which was effected in two hours. He suffered a good deal from exposure and the pressure of the timbers, but no bones were broken and no permanent injury is anticipated.

Little damage was done to the baggage car, which stayed on the rails. Its occupants, Jos. Decker, baggageman, and Norman Guinane, express messenger, though buffeted roughly by flying baggage and express, were not much the worse of their experience.

The only other person hurt in the wreck was Mrs. James of Utterson who was slightly cut.

Kenneth McLennan was conductor of the passenger train, with Bert Dunn as brakeman. On the freight Reg. Bidwell was conductor and his rear brakeman was L. Lawrence.

The collision piled wreckage up over thirty feet high, the smoke boxes of the two engines were almost touching and the headlights were jammed so solid together that they could not be wrenched apart. Of the two engines, Nos. 404 and 1283, the boilers and wheels were about all that was left. Seven cars of freight were demolished. A strange thing happened in connection with the box car next the engine. Although the car was smashed so badly that it had to be burned, two horses that were in it escaped without a scratch. About 8 p.m. the Allandale auxiliary reached the scene and in 14 hours the line was opened again.

Railways: G.T.Ry.

Stations: Utterson

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