PARIS PAST

The car left Paris approximately 15 minutes past 7 o'clock with Motorman Longhurst and Conductor Beacom in charge, along with twelve passengers on board It was a new yellow-painted car recently equipped with a spacious interior. There were doubts among the employees whether they would be able to reach Brantford safely. At the time, there was a heavy wind blowing with intermittent snow-flurries, and the tracks were rapidly being covered. It is commonly known among the railroad men that the drifting of the snow already on the ground is sometimes a more serious impediment to the service than a steady snowfall.

Refused Tickets. On account of the doubt which existed as to whether the car would be able to reach Brantford, the ticket office at the station in Paris was closed, and many refusals for tickets were made. Those who did take the car were told of the situation but were determined to take their chances of a safe arrival at their destination point that evening.

At 7:15, the car pulled out. The smoking apartment was in the front part, and in it were seated J S Buckwell of Boston, Mr. George James of Brantford, Mr. John Jefferson of Paris, E. T. Rowland of Brantford, the two unknown commercial travelers, and Isaac Newsome of Paris. In the other apartment situated in the rear of the car were Mr. and Mrs. James

Deming and Mrs. James Miller and her two children, all of Brantford, or five people in all.

Motorman Longhurst and Conductor Beacom changed places soon after leaving Paris, with the conductor taking the controller and the motorman adjourning to the smoking apartment to eat his lunch. The car climbed slowly up the Paris hill and proceeded on its way to Brantford without stopping. It was slow work, however, and the tracks were rapidly becoming covered with the drifting snow. So heavily and slowly did the car proceed that it took nearly half an hour to reach the place where the accident occurred.

The Place. The scene of the wreck is near Armstrong's switch at a trestle bridge and is about one mile from Paris At this point, the radial and the Grand Trunk tracks run almost parallel. The Grand Valley line passes over the roadway by means of a bridge about 15 or 20 feet above the thoroughfare On the bridge, snow had collected during the storm. The first intimation of the impending trouble came to those inside the car just as the body of the coach got well onto the bridge in question There was a lurch to the westward when the front end of the car, including the smoking apartment, appeared to raise up and then topple westwards The timber in the car creaked, and the passengers were at a loss to know what was coming They were thrown in all directions before the final crash to the ground resulted. The side of the car facing the east turned completely over and was side-tipped when the car stopped in its downward flight. It turned turtle