The Almonte Train Wreck A Story of People

Overview

On a snowy December night in 1942 in the town of Almonte, Ontario’s Christmas celebrations were cut short when a train transporting Canadian troops rear-ended an Ottawa-bound passenger train that was waiting at the station platform. It is considered one of the worst train wrecks in Canadian history. Ottawa Storytellers Donna Stewart and Ruth Stewart-Verger tell stories of the people and events surrounding the Almonte Train Wreck. Johnny Spinks, a local Almonte singer accompanied by Bradley Scott, sang Mac Beattie’s song “Train Wreck at Almonte” courtesy of the Beattie family and his own song “Rust on the Rails”. This is a story celebrating the people who rode and worked on the trains of the Ottawa Valley and, specifically, those who came to the aid of No. 550 Pembroke Local, during the foul weather of December 27, 1942.