GTR 1890 Lachine Wharf Verdict, The Three Solitudes of the Coroner's Jury

Drunk?

Asleep at the switch?

Rules which are not enforced?

Failure to properly employ the telegraph system?

Not maintaining a proper watch on the road ahead?

An early, undated postcard. The switch in the foreground may be for a local commercial track.
from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

Here are the previous posts on this accident and the coroner's jury.

Part 1

Part 2

A quick review:

Below is an artist's work to illustrate the circumstances of the accident. The engine of the 6-hour-late Toronto Express is submerged in the St Lawrence River and the baggage car is teetering at the end of the Lachine Wharf. The body of the engineer (the only fatality) was recovered before the inquest began. The tender had been pulled up through the ice - according to newspaper reports. There was the expectation that the engine would also be removed before the winter ice locked it in.

On the inset diagram, B marks the location of Willows. Here there was a switchman's shanty with a telegraph set. As already noted in Part 2, trains to Lachine were fairly frequent during the day. There was not just one "Lachine Train" which ran first thing in the morning.

Not shown are two manually-set (switch protection) semaphores which could be seen at a greater distance than the Lachine Wharf spur switch target. These would be set by the switchman to control traffic on the south track ... for example, if the switch was open, or if a train was occupying the south main track at Willows.

In the same December 1890's newspapers, I was noticing reports regarding one or two other passenger train accidents over on the Intercolonial. One accident killed 5, with 3 others dying later of their injuries. Back then, accidents, loss of life and investigations of railway accidents by coroner's juries were quite common. Wooden passenger cars derailing at track speed from a broken wheel ... and slamming into bridge abutments ... make the Lachine accident seem minor at this point in history. 

from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

*  *  *

from: Archives historiques de la Ville de Montréal

Shown above is a composite made from a few 'stereo pairs' of Montreal, taken by a commercial service in 1947. By this time, the Lachine Wharf station had been removed. Stereo pairs are not designed to fit together exactly, so my composite looks a little rough.

• At the extreme left, just beyond the Lombardi poplars, on the CNR (ex-GTR) double-track main line you can see Lachine station (built in 1888). It played no role in this accident.

• Following the tracks to the right (east) you can approximate where the Lachine Wharf spur leaves the main line at the switch (employee timetable 'station') named Willows. The switchman and his shanty were located here.
• Farther to the east - at the right edge of the photo - is Convent. This passenger station is mentioned in the accounts below, because trains passing it can be seen from Willows.

• The Lachine Wharf station was located near the circular pile of material seen to the west of the spur. It is significant because it provided the first indication to the Toronto Express engine crew - operating in the winter morning darkness, in a snowstorm - that their train had departed from the main line. The gentle left-hand curvature of the spur was apparently not noticed by the engine crew as their engine forced its pilot through the fallen snow. The Toronto Express was the first westbound released into the storm - six hours after the Bonaventure station collision blocked their departure. 
• You can see the area where the wye was located ... to turn the Lachine train for its return to Bonaventure station, Montreal.

• The Lachine Wharf was used during the summer months as a centre for providing steamboat rides down the Lachine Rapids ... and west to St Anne's at the western tip of Montreal Island.
• To the north of the Lachine station, at the left edge of the photo, is an oval with an irregular loop around it. These were elevated miniature tracks where builders of miniature live steam locomotives could operate their creations. They still existed in the early 1960s.

*  *  *

Once again, a point form summary of the newspaper articles precedes the clippings.

This is being done so you don't have to plow through the difficult-to-read originals.

However, if there are points which interest you, the original artifacts are here for you to read.

*  *  *

• Coroner Jones states to the newspaper reporter that his own mind is made up regarding who was to blame for the death of Engineer Birse. However, it is up to the jury to decide on this matter.
• A juror says that the engineer of the regular Lachine train should be called and another says the jury should see the location of the event.
• General Superintendent J Stevenson of the GTR testifies that a light engine collided with an outbound freight at the Bonaventure terminal, and this caused the delay of the Toronto Express.
• The movement of trains is reported on the telegraph [OS'd to the dispatcher on the common circuit] and operators can be aware of the trains which are approaching their stations. In contrast, in England, electrically-triggered block signals provide protection behind a train - actuated by the train's passing. The protection remains until that train leaves the block. 
• General Superintendent Stevenson says that the dispatcher notifies the Lachine Junction operator (2 miles west of Bonaventure) by a bell when a train leaves Bonaventure station. 
• Stevenson has conducted his own inquiries. The switchman was asleep at his post. The engineer was not keeping a proper lookout. Their gross neglect of their duty caused the accident.

*  *  *

• General Superintendent Stevenson indicated that the switchman was tasked with the safe passage of trains by his switch - he was asleep. The engineer was responsible for the safety of his passenger train. By the testimony of the fireman, the semaphore and switch light could have been seen from the cab. The engineer did not constantly verify the indication of the switch light before passing over the switch - in violation of the rules.
• A hand lamp for signalling and a telegraph key and sounder are present at the Willows location. Although the switchman knows Morse, it was not his duty to listen for the OS reports on passing trains.
• Engineer Samuel Birckley had been with the Grand Trunk for 17 years and he was the engineer of the Lachine (local) Train. His train was delayed because of the light engine/freight collision at Bonaventure. His Lachine Train was the second westbound released - following the Toronto Express by about 15 minutes. 
• Engineer Birckley said it was necessary to whistle (4 sounds - per the rules) TWICE for the switch at Willows (leading to the Lachine Wharf spur) ... as the switch was not attended to after the first whistle.
• The switchman opened the switch to allow the Lachine Train onto the Lachine Wharf spur. There Birckley's train came upon the markers of the Toronto Express and was told about the accident by its crew.
• Engineer Birckley continued that he usually whistled for the switch at Willows, but as the switchman could see him leave Convent, 140 yards away the switchman frequently set the switch for him without the Lachine Train needing to signal for it. The switchman was always ready for duty and never failed to set the switch when he whistled.
• Engineer Birckley of the Lachine Train testified that the switch should always be set for the main track, and rules were being broken when it was set for him without whistling, however he never felt the need to report this. On Joe Birse's engine [the Toronto Express] you could not keep your hand on the throttle all the time and also see the switch indications.
• [On the morning of the accident] Birckley whistled at 4 engine lengths, then 2 engine lengths before the switchman came out to open the switch for the Lachine Wharf spur [on which the Toronto Express already had crashed].
• Due to the curvature, the engineer of the Toronto Express would need to cross to the fireman's side to see the purple [diverging] switch light continuously as the train approached. It would take about 30 seconds for the Express to travel between the switch at Willows and the Lachine Wharf [down the length of the spur and down into the water]. It was usual for a switchman to use the coloured hand signal lamp at night, but Switchman Dubois did not that night.
• Engineer David Simpson of the Brockville Train said that after the engine of the Express passed the [manual approach] semaphore indicating 'all right' [at the Lachine Wharf switch] ... that Switchman Dubois could have had time to throw the switch in front of the Toronto Express for the Lachine Wharf spur. 
• The switch target could not have been seen by the engineer around the smokestack and height of the engine for the last 40 feet before the switch. Engineer Simpson always slowed up at this switch for this reason and waited until he had safely passed by it before he 'let her out' ['highballed']. The engineer could not maintain his proper place on the right side of the cab - with his hands on the throttle and brake - and check for the switch target light on the left side at the same time. 

• [Just for the sake of summarizing all of this evidence: Edwards, the Toronto Express fireman, had already testified that they were in a snowstorm and the pilot flangers were down - kicking up snow. They would have had the usual smoke and steam swirling around. So, amidst all this, the General Superintendent of the Grand Trunk, J. Stevenson (above) thought that Engineer Birse of the Express should have crossed the cab ... to keep an eagle eye for a potential purple switch target ... for the last 40 feet before reaching the points ... in order to be certain ... that the switch wasn't suddenly thrown in his face. While this speaks to improving 'cab resource management' ... getting the fireman to look ... it does not seem reasonable to blame the engineer for failing to maintain a proper lookout.]

*  *  *

 A view published in 1909. You can see a locomotive on the spur ...  to the left of the houses.
from: from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

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• The Grand Trunk provided a train and Coroner Jones, the jury and two railway officials visited Willows (the location of the switch) and the stop blocks beyond the Lachine Wharf station, where the engine entered the St Lawrence River.
• Question: Is it possible Engineer Birse saw the [approach] semaphore for eastbounds and mistook it for the semaphore protecting the Willows switch? Answer: This is unlikely with Birse's years of experience. It is more likely that he saw the switch target displaying a clear [white] light and that this target was changed at the last minute to the purple light indicating a diverging route had been set by the switchman.
• French-Canadian jurors: 1) Birse should have got down from his engine to examine the switch. 2) Birse must have been drunk. 3) How can you (said to Juror James R Dick) say that Switchman Dubois was asleep but I can't say Birse was drunk? Dick answers: There is no evidence that Birse was drunk, however Grand Trunk General Superintendent Stevenson gave sworn evidence that Dubois was asleep.
• There was discussion about the curvature of the main line and the curvature of the spur and whether it would have given any obvious sign to the engineer that he was on the wrong track. 
• The acting switchman at Willows was asked to switch the points - which took about one second. A juror pointed out that with the snowstorm filling in the points, this act may have taken longer. [I wonder if stub switches, built with the light rail of the era, were hard to turn in a snowstorm.]
• A juror asked a GTR official present: If the train had entered the spur at 40 mph, could it stop in time before hitting the stop blocks. Answer: Yes.

• After returning to Montreal: the coroner recommended the jurors choose 3 [anglophones] and 3 [francophones] to draw up a memorandum of the evidence. This memorandum would be discussed on the following day.

*  *  *

• The subcommittee of 6 jurors found that Switchman Dubois was guilty of culpable negligence in turning the switch for the Lachine Wharf spur whereby the engine was thrown into the river and Engineer Birse was killed. Birse evidently saw a white light at the switch target which was subsequently turned [showing purple] for the spur by the switchman.
• Francophone members thought Birse was drunk but Anglophone members said there was no evidence, and furthermore, one could argue it was more likely that Switchman Dubois was drunk.
• Coroner Jones spoke briefly, saying to the jury that Conductor Stone (of the Express) and General Superintendent Stevenson (of the GTR) had testified that the accident would not have occurred if the switchman and engineer had done their duty.
• Fireman Samuel Edwards of the Toronto Express was recalled. He testified that Engineer Birse, after passing the semaphore, had put his head out of the cab and continued to look forward until 2-3 engine lengths before the switch. He said the Express was travelling at 12-15 mph at that point.
• Coroner Jones again raised the idea that following the Grand Trunk's rules would have prevented the accident. It was now in the jury's hands (12 members) to determine their verdict in private. 

*  *  *

Circa 1909 - taken from an approaching steamboat. from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

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Here is the Montreal Daily Witness account of the coroner's jury verdict.

I have not attempted to summarize it.

James R Dick - the dissenting juror - is quoted at length by the newspaper 

regarding his reasoning for not signing the verdict. These ideas include:

"The rules of the Grand Trunk were the best that experience could devise, and it was not the fault of the rules, but the fault of Dubois in breaking the rules, which led to the accident."

"Mr Dick said it was nothing less than presumption for the jurors to sit in judgment upon a Company which had over forty years experience and whose rules had been found equal to every other occasion, while the plain fact was scarcely mentioned that it was the breaking of the rules which led to the accident."

... The Lovell's Montreal Directory of 1890-1891 indicates that there is a James R Dick, who lives at 115-117-119 Mountain (today de la Montagne - even though 'Mountain' was named after a clergyman with that surname). Mr Dick's occupation is listed as "superintendent Boys' home". The listed address is in Griffintown, which is just across the Lachine Canal from the Point St Charles headquarters (back then), and the yards and shops of the Grand Trunk Railway.

... It seems possible that the nearby Grand Trunk could have been supportive in providing employment and apprenticeship opportunities for boys. Perhaps, beyond the simple facts found by the inquest, Mr Dick's strong feelings might also be based on his experiences and dealings with the company in the course of his work.

*  *  *

Here is the editorial from the Montreal Daily Witness about the verdict and the 'mixed jury' system.

*  *  *

A souvenir postcard of the Lachine Wharf from 1907.

The faint postmark indicates it was mailed.

The photo probably shows one of the commercial tracks connecting with the Lachine Wharf spur.

from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

GTR 1890 Lachine Wharf - An Engineer Killed by an Open Switch

At a recent postcard show I found this card which shows a station building I was not familiar with - Lachine Wharf. There was a CNR spur which almost reached the wharf when I was a kid. 

... Back then, around 1961, the CNR was winding up use of its main line which follows the route of today's Victoria Street in Lachine. The line was being relocated to the north - to today's location between Autoroute 20 and the Canadian Pacific main line.

I don't know a lot about postcards ('but I know what I like') and I wondered if other copies of this card could be found on the internet. Sure enough, BANQ - Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec - has one and another interesting image (below) popped up at the same time.

The next step was to find contemporary newspaper accounts of the event ... 

Consequently, my original idea for this week's post was discarded as I chased after the subject of this post.

This story has many features which were so typical of the 'human experience of railroading' during this era. It is cliché, but the engineer was killed by an open switch ... he stayed in the cab with his hand on the throttle ... many passengers were saved by his action. 

Some later disagreed with the last point (details to follow) ...

from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Typical of some of Canada's earliest railways, the Montreal and Lachine Railroad - opening in 1847 - served as a 'portage railway' to connect two navigable bodies of water. The Lachine Rapids effectively blocked navigation up the St Lawrence toward the Great Lakes. The Montreal and Lachine Railroad replaced animal-drawn conveyances for people and goods going around this barrier.

Between 1825 and 1850, various configurations of the Lachine Canal were also developed - enabling passengers and goods to bypass the rapids ... during the shipping season.

The Lachine Wharf railway terminal shown here was built in 1860. 

An advantage of the railway 'portage' line over the canal was speed - travelling 12 kilometres by rail ... was accomplished faster than 14.5 kilometres on board a canal boat making its way through locks.

While it was a nice idea ... this line failed to divert enough traffic from the Lachine Canal to be profitable. Eventually, under the Grand Trunk, Lachine Wharf station received excursion traffic from Montreal, as Montrealers and tourists took tour boat trips along Lake St Louis to St. Anne's and back.

The railway system of Canada developed because it was an all-weather transportation mode well-suited to Canada's needs. A junction formed at the approach to the wharf and this new track eventually became part of the main line of the Grand Trunk Railway from Montreal (Canada's metropolis) toward Toronto and points west, including Chicago.

In the illustration below, A-B is the main line. B (timetable station Willows) is a telegraph-equipped shanty to support the junction switch to the wharf spur. You can see the wharf station at C. You'll also notice a wye to turn equipment for its return run to Montreal. 

As the contemporary artist is surely not depicting a potential cornfield meet between those two mainline trains, I will disagree with some sources and conclude there was double track here in 1890.

Here is the local newspaper coverage of the accident which occurred on 4 December 1890.

I suspect the paper document was microfilmed and subsequently turned into a digital form.

It will take a little patience to get every word, and I'll point out a few interesting points after you look at it.

from: Montreal Daily Witness; 4 Dec 1890; Google Newspapers.

The capitalized headings below match those in the article above. 

My comments/ideas below pertain to the text in the article ... under those headings.

INTO THIS THE ENGINE PITCHED

• The 'pitch in' at Bonaventure was a derailment in the station yard.
• 'immigrants going west' may well have been travelling on through Chicago - to the American or Canadian west.
• The engineer had over 30 years of service.

THE TENDER FELL UPON HIM

• I suspect the baggageman was probably an experienced brakeman with seniority to work in passenger service.
• 'snatched at the bell rope' Before air signal lines, intercoms and radios, a rope ran the length of a train, on the outside, to a gong in the cab - so the train crew could communicate with the engine crew.

DAMAGED IN THE FRONT END

• 'about 10 or 12 miles [per hour]' presumably along the wharf spur.
• 'till we saw the station' It seems passing the wharf station tipped off the engineer that they were on the spur.
• 'the entire train would have been telescoped' In collision, wooden coaches often telescoped into each other - crushing the passengers inside.

WOULD HAVE BEEN LOST

• 'I got water and put out the stove.' After telescoping, and other upsets, varnished wooden coaches were often set on fire by upset coal or coke stoves, often with the passengers trapped in the wreckage. Later, much safer steam heat trainlines were employed for train heat.

INFORMING THE OPERATOR THERE (Willows)

• 'Well, that's not done on double track.'  For a westbound to be so easily diverted to a south-side spur ... left-hand running (where engineers can easily see opposing trains) must have been the standard at that point in history on the GTR.

As you'll recall from the article above, it was a switchman/operator by the name of Dubois who lined the switch for the spur. According to one reference, a new Lachine station - had been built on the main line in 1888 - the accident occurred in 1890. Probably, an important gateway-to-Montreal station like Lachine had a live-in agent who was supplemented with part-time operators at certain hours. 

The new Lachine station is on the main line and beyond the left edge of the artist's drawing ... being located a little farther to the west.

One question, is whether Dubois was assigned to the Lachine, Willows (the switchtender shanty), or the Lachine Wharf station. 

It seems possible that a part-time or training operator might have been sent (walked) from Lachine to Willows, where:

• He would throw the switch. 
• The Wharf train would then clear the main and stop. 
• He would normal the switch, and swing aboard the tailend of the Lachine Wharf train. 
• He would then go on duty at Lachine Wharf as an operator to deal with any paperwork/ supervision of the station/ train orders/ clearances as needed. 

... This is just my speculation!

An important operational point, on which the article is silent, is keeping the switch cleaned out during a snowstorm. If the switch at Willows, leading to the Lachine Wharf, was to be ready for the morning train, Dubois would have to ensure it was cleaned. I think this train may have been a westbound wayfreight.

If the switch was not cleaned out and if the Lachine Wharf train was not cleared from the main promptly ... the main line would be blocked ... and someone from the train would have to go back and flag in a snowstorm.

Sometimes Transportation Safety Board investigations describe people reacting to what they expect will happen based on past experience, rather than what is actually happening around them ...

If you were continually going out and cleaning the switch to ensure that the Lachine Wharf train would immediately clear the main line ... you might become captive to that idea when you finally saw a headlight.

*  *  *

In an editorial on the following day, 5 December 1890, it is noted that Canada has no railway commission and that the investigation would depend on a coroner's jury.

from: Montreal Daily Witness, 5 Dec 1890; Google Newspapers.

A municipal map section from 1932-1954 appears below ...

Above, you can see the Lachine Wharf spur leaving the Montreal-Toronto main line at Willows. This old roadbed is under today's Victoria Street in Lachine. The wharf and trackwork have been altered and the station no longer exists. The remnants of a wye can be seen along the spur. Generally, the dashed lines indicate railways. However, the dashed lines linked to 34th Avenue are streetcar tracks.

The GTR/CNR Lachine station is the elongated 'T' in the top-left corner of the map. It was opened in 1888, according to my interpretation of Montreal Island Railway Stations; Michael Leduc; 1994; self-published. This station was closed in June 1961.

1892 from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Above: Two years after the accident. The camera is looking downstream toward Montreal. The Lachine Wharf station is seen at the left, along with part of its telegraph line. The steamboats are probably carrying people on excursions.

*  *  *

1913 from: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Above, the Lachine Wharf station as seen from the Montreal side in 1913. The tops of the station chimneys are just visible over the coaches. Notice the red flag daytime markers on the tailend. As well as operating west to St Anne's, some of the steamboats also offered rides downriver to Montreal - shooting the Lachine Rapids. They would return upstream via the Lachine Canal.

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The first wharf at Lachine.

A complication which I've tried to save you from ... until now!

The Montreal and Lachine Railroad began service to Lachine (old wharf) on 19 November 1847. The old wharf was located at the foot of 21st Avenue - as seen on the 1932-1954 map below and the location is labeled as the 'Iroquois Yacht Club'. (Remember that the new and relocated Lachine Wharf station, of postcard fame, was completed in 1860.) This old location only had an effective lifespan of 13 years.

The waters adjacent to Lachine (old wharf) were too shallow for the more modern steam vessels operating across the St Lawrence River to Caughnawaga (Kahnawake). This resulted in the building of the second Lachine Wharf - around which our accident story is centred.

from: The Delaware & Hudson 85 Years of International Service; author not indicated; CRHA News Report, Feb 1961; Canadian Railroad Historical Association.

The idea of operating a railway 'car ferry' from Lachine to Caughnawaga (Kahnawake) was given up around 1864. With the opening of the Victoria Bridge in 1859 - an all weather route to the south shore - it wasn't profitable to use the cumbersome car ferry route, which operated only during the navigation season.

With the building of the 1888 Lachine station, Lachine (old wharf) was renamed Convent.

1925 from: Archives historiques de la Ville de Montréal

Above, in 1925, you can see the curving upstream inlet of the Lachine Canal. In all of these images, the original Lachine Canal is a narrow waterway which hugs the shore. To its immediate left is the pier - crowded with dark buildings - which was the first Lachine wharf - with that car ferry connection to the south shore at Caughnawaga (Kahnawake). 

You can also see the large factories fronting on the Canadian National Railways (formerly GTR) line through Lachine. 

Looking toward the right horizon, you can see a cloud of smoke rising from what I think was the roundhouse of the CPR Sortin Yard.

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detail from: Lachine map original 1932, updated to 1954; acquired by LC Gagnon.

Comparing the 1932-1954 map to the aerial view from Google Maps of 2023 ...

The newspaper article refers to the spur down to the Lachine Wharf station (Quai Lachine). The Lachine (old wharf) is visible at the 'Iroquois Yacht Club'. On the map, you can still see the faint curve of the original spur from the main line to this long-gone railway terminal.

Below, the gentle curve of Victoria Street lies over the old Grand Trunk through Lachine. The spur to Lachine Wharf appears mainly in green, as the former railway real estate has been preserved as a trail.

from: Google maps

On the day of the accident, the headline of the Montreal Daily Witness framed the conclusion of their 'investigation'.

A Switchman's Error. An engineer dies with his hand on the throttle.

Those of you who read TSB accident reports, and who are familiar with the Uniform Code of Operating Rules of 1962, may have a more cautious approach to reaching a conclusion on this subject.

For example, there are several rules in the UCOR which are designed to ensure safety at main line switches and stations. They also existed back then.

Once I started looking at this event, I became really interested in learning more about its aftermath. Certainly, the Grand Trunk would conduct its own investigation, and it would probably deal privately with its own employees as it saw fit.

The lack of a Canadian railway commission - which is lamented in the editorial above - really did have a negative impact on the quality of the public investigation into this incident. 

... I expected that the poor operator/switchtender Dubois wouldn't do well. However, I was really surprised by some of the conclusions and deliberations of the citizen-investigators on the 'mixed' coroner's jury!

I'll work to present what I found out in the next post.

The CNR Lachine station, May 1961 (the original part was built in 1888), looking west.
Notice all of the safety appliances on my tricycle.