Wreck on Grand Valley Railway near Paris, Ontario

January 16, 1908 - The lives of twelve passengers, a motorman, and a conductor were perilously endangered in a wreck that occurred last night on the Grand Valley radial road between Brantford and Paris, at the trestle bridge over the precipitous ravine near Armstrong's switch, about one mile from Paris on the road to Brantford. The accident happened at approximately 15 minutes to 10 o'clock in the evening and resulted in one of the large radial cars toppling over the bridge, making a complete turn, and striking the ground below. The car came to rest on its side, with a distance ranging from 10 to 20 feet from end to end. The incident was caused by the rear truck of the car leaving the track, 60 feet from the end of the bridge. Although the circumstances indicate that the car was not traveling at a very rapid rate, when it struck the bridge, it became overbalanced on the west side, lurched, creaked, then lifted in the front and crashed down below with its fourteen occupants. It is a miracle that only two of the fourteen occupants were seriously injured Conductor Beacom, who was acting as the motorman at the time, suffered a broken right leg and a fractured skull, while Mr J

In the image above, we see the exterior view of the Grand Valley car that met with a disaster by plunging over a bridge on the Brantford-Paris line on the night of January 15 This photo, captured on the day after the accident, depicts the car lying on its side in the exact position where it came to rest. The extensive damage to the car is evident, with severe wreckage visible. Notably, one of the trucks is still observed standing on the rails of the bridge Photo: Paris Museum & Historical Society

S Buckwell of Boston, who was sitting in the smoking compartment, sustained three or four broken ribs. Others were injured but not seriously. Among the passengers were two ladies and two children, whose escape from serious consequences is one of the more fortunate incidents of the episode that could have resulted in much greater harm to those involved. Every window in the car was shattered during the crash, and the scene among the terror-stricken passengers and crew must have been tumultuous. Two unidentified commercial travelers were the first to extricate themselves from the debris and hurried to the farm of Mr. Samuel Foulds, where assistance from Paris was requested through a telephone call Their presence of mind greatly contributed to the excellent and quick relief that was obtained.

One peculiar aspect of the accident is the fact that the rear truck of the car was off the track for 60 feet before striking the bridge. It is strange that the condition of the truck did not stop the car within that distance before reaching the bridge. Nevertheless, the car was moving very slowly over the bridge when the accident occurred. It is believed that the snow, which had drifted to a depth of several inches in that area, was initially responsible for the derailment. Continued on page 14