“It could have been a lot worse” is a comment attributed to an Ontario Northland official 50 years ago. It referred to a train jumping the tracks, and is our Cochrane history feature this week.
The incident on the train from Cochrane to Moosonee happened three-and-a-half hours and about 87 miles into the trip on January 8th, 1975. Two diesel engines and 12 freight cars derailed. An oil tanker leaked 15-thousand gallons of fuel. It caught fire and was allowed to burn itself out in the ditch.
The Northland Post reported that 13 people were hurt. Among them, Jeanne Demeule and dining car employee Margaret Lefebvre were treated in Cochrane for minor injuries. Marion Wesley of Moose Factory stayed overnight in the Smooth Rock Falls hospital, with shoulder pain and minor scrapes.
The other 22 passengers were bussed to Timmins and flew out to Moosonee the next day.
Thanks, as always, to the Cochrane Public Library for access to its archives.
