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IV'. 86853 ■ ';jrr»ii,i.'T ■::]':r^ Orf^ H :qa THE GREAT RAILWAY CATASTROPHf ON THE BESJARDIN CANAl BTIIDG^ ' , I,, 'H OM THE LINC OF THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.n^^it ':(>• -• •»>■ [The object of the Publishers of (his pamphlet is t^-o-rokl,--^fti'^' to place on record, in a concise form, a narrative of one of tlie iiroStf^"^ fearful casualties of modern times, collated from reliable sources; arit^,^=''^ secondly, to pay some slight tribute to the memory of those beloved : fellow-citizens who perished in that fearful catastrophe, and now slum-^^"* ber in the silent tomb.] ,i , .ji fay -.1 s « -' fr- Jt.l In ■. * The Twelfth op Maech will long bo remembered iA Candaa as & diiy tff ' sad bereavements and heart-rending reminiscences. ' On the afternoon of that day ,1 J57) there left Toronto tho usual "pas-- senger train for Hamilton. As. near as can be ascertained, there word al^oat one hundred persons on tho train. The usual calls were made at tho way stations, and the train arrived at the Desjardin Junction at its appoiuted time, having taken on about the same number as had been sot down, sotiiat the train was much about as we have stated it. When approaching tfco Junction, the customary signals were given, and the train was brou-^ht on from the Toronto Branch (as the Hamilton and Toronto Railroad is caliedf ' into the main line of the Great Western Road. But before wo proceed fur- ' ther, It may be well to explain the condition of things at this point— a point which has now acquired a world-wide fame for death and disaster. Within forty yards of the junction of the two roads, the Great Western crosses the Desjardin Canal, which is a short navigation connecting the town of Dundas with Burlington Bay, at the head of Lake Ontario. Prior to tho consti-uction of the Great Western Railroad, its course was circuitous, wind- ing round the Heights at tho bottom of a deep ravine. An attempt was ma4o by tho engineers of the Company to construct a bridgo at the point where the line crosses the old canal channel ; but after tho expenditure of a largo sum of money, it was deemed to be impracticable, as no good foundation: could be got, audit was consequently abandoned as being a "bottomless pit," by which name it is yet known. An arrangement was then effected with the Canal Company (which was originally started into existence by an entemrizin? Prftnnh (ronfiomom •n.i.^v — :^^j .x t^ t , _ _ .*,.." °~ ' " ^'^^''^^^ «■«' i^unaas, namea i'eter Uesjardm) by which the Canal was carried directly through the Heights, and the •o-ofcUed "bottomlew pH» was ftUed up. It wa^ at this embankment that fhe fearful coUirion of last January occurred, by which four persons lost their Uvea, and numbers of others escaped ac by a miracle.. Between the Heights and the Bay, the Canal is crossed by a swing-bridge of sixty feet ■pan. the abutments being of solid masotry, ^ahd ri^ngtorty fe>t (f^oy^m level of the water, which is there tweWe feet deep. At the distance of forty yards on the north-east side of the bridge (from which direction this lU-fated train was proceeding) there is a switch, by means of irhich the rails on the q Toronto branch are united with those on the main track of the Great Western line, there being only one traefcover the bridge, and :%ence fhe necessity of this switch. When the train passed this point, there were two men in attendance at the switch, the one having just come on duty a little ahead.of his given time^ to enable the other to proceed to the city on that train, as was his custom. They both agree that nothing appeared to be wrong as the locomotive passed over the switch ; one of them jumped on the platform o^ the last car, and held on for a moment by the iron rods ; the brakes had been loosened, and onwards went the train. We have said that the train had passed the switch apparently all right ; In a moment or two, the lojomotive enters on the bridge; one sharp, shrill whistle gives the only warning to the passengers that between them aud ^, eternity there is left scarcely sufficient time to say, " May the Lord be meroifttU" The Oxford sinks through the floor of the bridge, and goes down at a fearful plunge through the ice, and the waters hide it from view, together with that brave driver Buenpield, who perished at his post, in the execution of his duty. Next comes the tender, and then the baggage car, in which there were two or three persons. And then the first passenger car, with itsflfty pre- .^ cious souls, comes down the rails and takes the fatal leap, either tarnmg a complete somersault or careening over upside down. It lies across the bed of the canal, the ice being broken through, and the car is abou. half-filled with water. But there is yet another car-load of mortal beings poised for a moment on the top of the wall, and then it, too, plunges into4hat fearful abyss leaving the hind trucks on the rails above-a poor remnant of a whole train, which but a moment before was as perfect as skill could make it. and bore homeward many a manly heart, and fondly-beloved father, mother, husband, wife, broth- er. Bister and child. A few escaped, and others perished in the attempt ; but not less than fifty-seven or sixty lives were. -at one fell swoop," cut off In the twinkling of an eye, as it were, and souls were landed on the shores of etern,- tv which had no time to reflect of its grandeur or its despair. — As might be expected, the news of the tragedy ran from raoath to mouth with the speed of evil-tidings, and every possible means were ^J^V^^J^^J'O rescue the wounded, the dying, and the dead. Throughout the whole of that niKht and during the succeeding days and nights, there was an army of men engaged inbppakingup the submerged cars and taking out those whohad Ix^en engngcu ^ -^ 6 r „^ „,^^„ti^ tn <1«tail the results of these labors more minutely, as also the hair-breadth 'scapes of those who stillllve to tell ~i 3£ r! ~1 -'■ 8 '■"ttefeWstory of their experience. In the mfe»n time we nin«tn>«.v ^ .v immedate effects of theoatartrophe. Itwa.onenfrir m ^ ' "^ *• «.n,etin,e8™cceed, . clear annny day In M^r^b aid .^,.1 "Ti"** "'""' fellow, who had ohoeen the ta* of ^""rwe ° JX »Zl^^^ nteneity Of the frost, for many of them were eatamt^ w J waS H I ' :*??.'■ r*^"^ <""" '='"^" "fHamUto^mtZmZtd Jnltn" hurried to the scene of the disasler,-the city was wrap^d in moZC 1 6^ hLr ;r '""'"' r''™' "' """-k-O"™ friend was bo™e°^h"ch"r^I house. The newspaper and telegraph offices were besleijed with a^oMen qu,res afer absent friends, aud as the news spread to Toron to^dl"; pomts the mtensity of feeling was oven mere and more heighte^ bT^hl .hterohange of communications which left no doubt aa to the C^„^L? not yet recovered from the wrck. This continued throughtl tt, wh2 mght he telegraph offices being kept open) and during lie a^t d"y- The bitter lamentations of those who came to search tor lost ftlS fZ"" Uie dead at the railroad depot was such as can never be f^gotteftT^ Who witnessed the grief of a mother as she picked out auonlvMn Lf • from amoog the dead ; a husband who recoguLd in Te nlS^^a S^mZ corpse before him, the partner of his life ; « wife who ,iMkS^,^. ^ feUprostrateover thehusband she adore.;. ^^Titw^^e^^lTht^^^^^^^^ a woman with her infant clasped in the arms of death; s^^^j^iSdeb^"" s-^ole families grouped together in affrighed attitudes ;"««!» IE ^ child or woman, there a stranger in a strange land. oaolaimed "'Neith<*weaIth,norpower,nor8kllI,norlearnInKnoroonr«»aJfc,o!,4m, 1^ UtUig for hi. owni ■ T"™ """""» a closer examination of the r<».i.H.„f »k. ^ , - ttiKJr be better imagined than descri^ how trereudou! 1 ^ r""""'- %.p.p«lace as the new,„u. through the strl^ «od tS „™ , ftl? 1 ^^fnends and relatives were repeated in the lists of ;ictimr ^'""' ing rlJercf'o:: g^rarru^n^b^n'l'' »? ''"'^^'^ .orm .t.^«h«t«,.^ii^-5. -- i;;.T.c,:;sx .nn<,n..P,th« lamo »* W.terdown , Mother got offend J»|j^^';^if^^ ' t Tim. ihynojle, of Dumbarton. B AM Doyle, wife of ibe above. ?:Ip^iek^o'yle, """"^'^/Aged »ye«* 7 »iu a^ Timothy Doyle, son of JSO. a, ageu « j ,,,;iJ-r5Ar,? Merchant N,„g«r». :;:;: S^ESSr|Sf«^-or.e.ortH<^U.^ :.i^^i5:-E™st.gWGrccn,^C-^^^^^^^^ ^^-iSife-^ ^'"'^ »ero,.at.S.^Uto«. a.ea **'^?^Geo. DarraghNrt^J;,^,,,, -Toronto. 1 -«na^5S&SiiS -Toronto Omn«..»«^^ *«^^^ f-.7« i ^ >V^ .all Bb, Iflay [am- ging aged ierrle, ffling'B leases crchant rtlton. rornsi^ly S Ki't'A tS "i'iiflV, ■■'■I .' 9!ll Trr^?;"^!"- ^^°''^°;^1' '"".'ifm^JP' ^- Stevenson, Esq., commi«jten mftrchant, Hamilton,dauj?hter of Sheriff Thomaa. v. bui,, ^ 40— An old njan. name unkaown, drab overcoat, blue vest, red comforter Btriped woollen niitteus. In hiepocket a bag of sliver, also fwne papers, amoni Bowman'^vino"''^^ *^'''" ^^ Maxwellin favor of Thomos Biwn, and dated wio i^T"'^*'^" ?^prley, Thorold. one of the beat plough makers in Canada.— ±118 body was clainjed by liis friends. „^.„f2.-A young girl, named Ellen Devinc, from below Port Nelson ; was going on a visit to her brother near Hamilton. 43. — Mary IX'vine, sister of the above. ^,44.--G. S.Sloan, merchant, Culsterville. . rii,; ilft"~n'''-'^ Hv-li'- J"*-; o/I"$er8oll, (whose father' wai^WtloasiyinJured). ,.(4o.~Darius Witter, of Markhau. ^ j / #v««,^^"~u ^'^'n^^^'P" n°' lA'"^'' * ^°"'' merchant, returning with his wife from a visit to DrCadwell the Toronto oecullsr, who identlfled them. 48.— Mrs. Bradfleld, wifu of the above. The bodies were taken away bv relatives. -' ■* 49.— James Forbes, of Nelson. '' ''"' 60.— Colin Campbell, of Carapbloville. 61.— George EUard. of Albion, Massachusetts. but no residence. Papers and letters dated Shannon ville. A miuiaturo of male and f^wale, and portraonnaie, with some money, were aldo fo..nd. ' a.l— HughMcEvoy, of Wnlpolc. „«„J*-~;?''^E^ ^r ''°' ^,'? ' °^ .^°^°"'? ^^^- ^"^^ ^«8 extensively en- gaged m the breeding and importing of iu.proved stock, and was well known to the leading ngncultunsts of the Province. C5.— Mary Jane Davis, of Toronto. 56.--,Georgo Knight, of Windsor, the fireman of tho locomotivo. .07-08.— Mrs. Howdcn and infant child, of Weston. .69.-^Mr, Parr, contractor, Hamilton. a-.). LIST OF THE INJURED. *• Mr. Thomas C. Street, of Niagara Falls, the eminent capitalist, and formerly M. P. |or tje county of WeWand, has his collar-bone fractured, and also some i^ury in his right arm. At last accounts he was doing well. Mr Street could give no account of tho accident; ho knew nothing tiUhe was i. taken from the; rums. e *+♦»» »»tto ,.hcin^L^''??^'VL^^'PP*'T'T,®'''^P'^^ ^^*^ «°«»e euts and a bruise in the Joii? !>"• .l^ethuno and Prater were both in attendance on this gentleman. He is slowly recovering. 'J- Mr. Woods, of Woodstock, had his arm broken head^*^** ^' ^^°^"'^®' °^ ^°'"' ^'"'^ell, escaped with iome injuries on tho Mr Baxton, jr. y of Stratford, is much injured about the head. - ,, notsS:iotly iij^eS"' '^ ^""' ®''"^'^' received a contusion on Iho head; ■ thA h^nTt,\}T,' "''^*'^^?*' .°? Hamilton, received some severe cuts about •|j< *"® ^^f^^, hut not dangerously injured. ,(,.," u«* oil' \^ ^^''°?^'''; of Newcastle, C. W., not much hurt. Ho WfelS'tho ^K-I Vu '""^l ^° ^ * f^^ ^'^^ ^'^'^^•"S °f tbo t^'^in. «nd then a shock. ,, which must have been at tl^c time when the engine went through the' bVidge 7 ^^^^ ^T^ its horizontal position, /ni was pitched hea&S iH,^ the bottom. He_ was the ur.^t rescued. He describes the airomr of the ■. ^i«*ifta iaieasq. liis clothe^ .were coxnplctely co^r^jd with W^o^t^^;^ wounded"- h: waf™e°of''Zt:f;eJr/'T'^ '!"»'«':,. "°' '"-«-''>'"'/ th. residence of KroU er^n law wf , w"^ """ ™"'«'«»t<»y 'emoved to Fenlmand Ba.gDer, passenger from Toronto toBuffilo, HligW^ injure,": THE ESCAPED. Mr. Mulr, Traffic Superinteiidont Oreat Hrestcrn RailnoA/l h.A . , mlracnlons escape. He was on the last se»i ,,r (i.„ ,"*"™«'i "M « most he was startled t^y the una3motLAf,h„!' ""e last car reading, when to the doc,r,he pe'rc*e"d"Xlr 'The"ma tr''L,djurne"d^ff^^^^^^ . Richard F. Jesaup, travelling Auditor of the Great Wotltll^'-^ m* ««1 l^rrV""" ^"""""« ™ '"^ '"»«'''™ °f ">e front car ""„TjlX"wf.S' a.tyf'iaf ^t'pTCLlg^'gt^afw^'-nX' a'c^^idtn^^S "n".'"."' ''T °" conscious of notL-ng until hf f^nnd him,e°f lying <^nfte toe almok^ull? on ih^h^^""""'^''- "™""^ """■« ff"<..*Jolce, e*aV^° wltMlUlTu carth^MwMow"'"''*""'''*"""' '""""'"'"'' »««»?«« ^om the flrst ..sojr„snfsi]^Sp'pr.i^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ -•" ^-• Statement of Mr. John K. Glare. , r iSf Md kwD?ni W ?r!i*''~*?^ ^**'''^ ^^'^ ^^««^°K Close behind nim. MO Keeping him down. He felt the water come in and rise arnAxMy^ *« ,. t li I P c ti a I about hill hfp, trh«n with «a effort, he throvr off the weiirht of thn *tnwi> .«^ succeeded with some difflclty in making hie way Lm aSout th^^^^^^ onr to the window at the end. Jt woh broken, and Mr. Clare thin k^t hit If any o„,^ot through It, it m««t have been before he did IrBtaid oeHr h/ I'aJe-the "pot ^'"«'" ^' "^'^ P^'^^'^*^'*^ ''^ ^'^ ^'•'■^"^''' ^b«"^»^ relu^tlSly t" - oiM:^;"£lS,Sr;.;;?S,^:J^!!?^*"« •'^P^^^ or the narrow eHcape. Statement of Mr. John J. Smith. Saturday morning, called on Mb. John J. Smith, of Livonia Wavii« <•.» .ert&^htVf.h^'''^,^?^^•^"'^'•L^^^^^ ^^^^^^ himalToslt «7th^^^^^^^ VtThM time r ? thS i^Ji'^'/K ""'^ *."'^. ^'« *'*'««' ? "^^^^ » «»* "« hiJ^head _ « ihlVh!.-^ V af'^ent he was sitting In the front part of the hindcar mM^^' thf** ^'°™ *r^^'^^^'' ^PI^««>*« the stove, that b.-fng on the right side flouting this way. Just a second before going down, h^^ard a whistlo anH a noise in front of the train. Th« car felt as if it wroff the track by the irl^ ief;n7fhro'"«Pr';^^,f J"'»P^"« ^^'^^y »P' fonowersut go^L tVti^ Tooks and fhf^iTA'" If ""? it going from under him, he claspeTonVof K2 doesriof know ho / "i«r.':^\faved his life. On reaching the bottom, how he does not know he found himself in water up to his neck, and was for a time ing h 8read\arIlv1oT:"T'." [""^^ ? -'"*^- "« wCnrbTed b/moT hpfn^nnoK!i? '^ ^^"'"'''^''^o keep his mouth above water and breathe being unable to mo ire, on account of bodies on his feet He ielt a Ln '« S near him whe« in the water, who appeared to 1,^ dead. He doicra>rthe SrTes 2ewr8o"MllX:.'t'-"^'-"*^r?*^^™" ^" being car;£T\o1hfhS Statement of Mr. W. W. Reed. Mr. Reed, who is a relative of C. M. Reed, of Erie was sittino- in fh« fourth seat from the door of the last car. Four' persoKtbe as foHol third, Mr. Reed oocupymg the fourth. Thinks they were jroinTsiirnr «5^h* Sr R w.«T' T^ ^"^ bt^en going at that slow rat7forhalf a SilTe or mot ^reaS when he foft a%h';fr^^^^^^ time : heard one whiXfor Twn from fh. \^«7o +K thumping ot the car and knew it was oft' the track but ?«„♦!. til X . ^ °' **r. Zimmerman and Mr. Farr they were hniM-ir eL^ nf'fh?' ^^^ ?.*.^"*' *°^ h« *^'°k« »"»«* have been thrown the whX wiuLt^f P''"»"9« ; lie oouia nol see even tlie (i«t ray of li»l,t X„ auout flfteen nunute. and he come^oT^„ea^.;aI^"r^gff VeetvinroniPr OT two allgbti cnt«. nnJ cxcoptlng a Baroncsi wottld ftjol pwfwUj vfA\» Ho roturns homo to-day. Statement of Mr. H. M. YtrringtorCs. Mr. Ycrrington. who is froni Port Stanley, was reported an severely wounded, but on visitiiif? him this raornln«. wo found htm ready to go out tho report having originated from his clothes l)tMng perfectly sa uratcd with blood when taken out. Mr. Y. was sitting al the front end or ti.c as cnr with his feet on the stove, next in front of Mr. Zimmerman. Ihinka thov had beon running some way-half a mile or more—at about ten milw an hour ; did not hear anv whittle, wh ch ho thinks may be accounted for by the coifo ; felt th3 jolting of the cars as if it was off tho tr.tck. for sixty feot or a littlu more thin vhe length of tho car. Not remembering tho bridge, did not give anr concern to the noise, thinking at tho worst they could not go f^i* at that rate, before they would hold up. He had never been tn a collismn. but had thought if he should ever be he would keep his scat ; the determuUion saved his life probably. , , . The classic the cars broke, and he thinks some ot tho seats gave way be- fore the car went over. Thinks thiU M^ssr^. Z mmermau aal l-arr wcro thrown down tlr.*t. and ho was thrown over the stovo on them, being In tho water and whou taken out was a litth^ out of his head but came out all right after getting warm, with the exception of a cut unijer the left car, and a scalp wound on thj back of his head. Statement of Mr. Marshall. W. R. Mmisiuu., of Wcodstock, was one of the few fortunate persons who were not killed by the late fearful accident. From his statement which up- nsara in the Spectator, we make the following extracts :— ''There were no incidents of a striking nature on the trip from Toronto to theiunction with the main line near Hamilton. When within sight of the Hamilton station, Mr. Beatty asked me "what time it was ? ' I looked at my watch and told hiui it was a -'quarter to six." About this time the tram began to go slower. Nearly half a minute afterwards I perceived quite a constarna- tion in the cars, passengers running to and fro, apparently much e.\cited. At the same time, I felt a strange sens^ation as if caused by somethmg irapedmg tho motion of the train. It was not a shock, but at the same time ev-cry ono seemed to think that someihing was wrong. As I was not aware of the dan-^ rreroua character of the place wo were approach mg, I retained ray seat, and SdriMed others to do the samt*. A slight pause ensued, myself and those sittmg with mi, remaining still, but anxiously waiting the result ^yhen with one jerk we were precipitated into the yawning abyss below. While descending I re- tained perRct consciousness, and felt we were going down some awtul preci- pici' : not a voice was heard in the descent. On reaching the bottom thero was one general crash, aftiu- which I found myself in total darkness, hemmed in on cve?y side : and crushed almost to suffocation by human bodies and bro- ken scats. The Ijlood oozed from my mouth, and it seemed as if every breath 1 drew would be the last. The next few minutes were the most awful I ever witne sed : oh, that it may never be my lot to experience ffie like again, bomo prayed, others called noon the saints, others swore fearful oaths, and all seem- ed writhing in the deepest agony. 1 can only liken the plac,; to a slaughter house. The blood streamed down over my face -.nd clothes as it some hugo beast had boon slain above me. In this fearful situation were placed 80 or 90 human beings, who, a few moments before rejoiced in excellent health and spirits, their minds occupied with worldly cares or pleasures : little thinking they would be so soon called into the presence of their Eternal Judge. What an awful le?son does this shocking event teach those who habitually put off nmkinff their npace with God to some future day, or to a death bed. Iho wri- ter of these few lines will consider himself amply repaid, li uis Ueseripiioa euo- M mmmAm \n nMrmiftAiiiff One ulaner to wsek for refVige In HiJi who nromlsed to tie a IlSXveSSS&d for fbout ten miDiit«^«, dnring which t!m« I spoko t«>i« *«"i«?,77,*^J!t,^*;J be^n^onSated, beggars all description. The locomotive withlt^^bta^ driver and fireman, c9P>pW\y subn^erged; two passenger cars freighted 1h^ preci^aonlsTand abaggagicar,>att^^ ^» r ''^ '^*^'''' i nr' W tet .tnction. But if this ruthless material destruction was apP'^^^^ . f %,1^^ riSc, kow awfTrf. w^ U»P or^aiiing out of h.?m^ Ufe J^?if »«f„J«f ^^^^ .|^t. taiB ipUntered ruinpof tho^p cars arose cries M^d shrieks, grga^? ^aJf^K «iti«Ss dfuneartWy i»ten8i^y ; while through Uxeir ^W^W-ef^.m?,^'*^^^^ ppotnkded the limbs *ud bodies of scores (^ tjje df ^r T^W?>M^&^f ^JXj% who bat Bmomant before were in the b^yTd»y,qf l#p»W^. Yi>9;j5K^M few moments, the bewildered survivors could only ^^^^^J^^mM^J^ horrors before them. A Reaction enauejJi V^, ^a ,^ach flew to the r6scue. impelled by a comp^^n V^tinct. Irwei^ate f «^9*S« Sr^All^i^h^ne^^^ ferent shops. Andjersonsengaged on the works at the De^iot. All ^ig^*' P«^- S4^X4 ^L malei^extWca^^ the bodied frdin the wrefcte ^Rafts IwKd^ th^ce, Wonable the men with' lon^pole^^ana looks. to, pjo. *?|J V^r l&r mo^^ safety. All "jg^S*"? ^^^^^^SSe^ deckers per^everid b their humane eflForts unrtfl all the haiiwnipfii^ ,^AX OP FA^I^O AND PRAYER. . . ,, ^, ... .'-r On Friday morning, the day ftfter the acpideat, t^e , C^y CoanQil 0^^ HamiSin WW prom^ conyonpd hy order of the Kypr. ^f?4.the ^Mo^?^ j«6lntion« unanimonsly adopted : \,^, ,., * Ri«oivTO,-.Th»t the Council having received infotWfl^^ .f,:*H/'Bft .{if ^*»* "^ kE80LVW),-11iiitin iiumi)le raWieslon to the Prorldenw ofHlm, mrroiHkll6ih to^he' fctoUiia, but wHow inBcnltable wiadokn P«mi*te B^T?fa«ftil eala^y on the Great W«.1^mRa«toad. by w^^^^ nMctedfriendg and citizens tiave been hurried into eternity, he it T^«*^e^7;f „^«^<^S vr tGwTiS Sf thisdity be respectfuny required to set apart Monday \^>th of Mar^h^a 'STy- ?rhSlKl6n ; thriy a^r* requVBted toUse from the ordinary °3£S„*Jf^!J^' 2ndn»**in*helr respwtfve c«ttgt«gfttion? oh tijat dUowing mini8terB,Ti|: H«P«'- THE FUNEKAL OBSEQUL^S . r .^^. . ^ and Monday. The bodiej of B^^- M^-/^^e interred on Sunday, and i,%io^day. All ?f Captain Sutherland aad Adam F^m^^^^^ le. The cUy the funerals were ^^^^J^ ^^ /^./i^S ^ar Churches tolled the mournfiilre- waa shrouded in sackcloth •, the bells «; ,^^^JL';';_gg,g ^g^e crowded with long JJfemoTthe slaaghtered vie ims; and our^^^^^^ theplace of ^- K^l processions, rAowlya^^^^^^^^ ^„, ,, express their sor- Btiltu'-e. It Beemed as if the entire c^^J "f " berpaved. The body of S. Zim- ?owL the dead and theirsympa^y J^^|^^^^^^^^^^^^ on MoW w th merman was taken to Niagara Full« on »un^ ^^enfrom various parts of the Masonic honors. Large numbers of 1^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ,,^try m the iS^fe =^:^Sl o^P^^he Jt^.hute of re^ct to the departed. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ^ ;;' «^T »TWMTBRMAN. OP CLIFTON, NIAGARA > ALLS, C. '^ Kghtedness. He said to «^"f «XSe wMrhThas oHate years fo W commencement upon the Ime of enterprise wmcnne ^ CaViada, were » ed srsuccessfully, that his only eff^^^^-^^^J ^^^s ?e Mmself added, that he !ray horse and buggy. ^V^^^ht be su^po^ed as n^ . ^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ possessed no more capital ^^an he JX;"^^^^^^^ and his first undertaking Sien but 27 years of age He located at inoroi^ Welland Canal, which ^as the construction of 4 locks and an aqueduct on ^^^er contract, involved something like $100,000. .f "oseqijenvi^, for which, was 1^9 mUes of the Gr.at ^estern^^^^^^^^^^^^ l^ea^^^ BrSge at Niagara Falls about $600,000. The hnji J^^f ?f *Xe 'amr^^ engaged his attention and and of the great railroad h^dge atthe^^am^ ^ peterboro', the Port Hope commanded his resources H^^^i^M^^Xav? i^ Mr. Zimmer- and Lindsay, and the Eneand ^ntano Mwa^^^^^^ arrangements for ^an originated, and had just comple^^^^ ^.^^^ ^ J ^ ter^, to ?i!iSbTtUte^l^^^ "^rtccSXl^^ "^- |Jnt«d him from carrying forward. ^.^ ^.^ 11 known as the "Clifton House," and his excellent taste and liberal ideas wer* illustrated in improving this fine estate, and adorning it artistically. Fifty- , two acres on the cliflF, directly opposite the American Falls, are enclosed with an iron fence and private hedge. The topography of these grounds is diversified and picturesque. That part nearest the river is level, and this is laid out in gravelled walks, with shrubbery, forest trees andfountains. One fountain was constructed at a cost of $15,000. These groves and shaded promenades are lighted during the summer eveniegs with gas. The proprietor's residence stands on a bluff some 60 feet high, midway of the ample grounds. In the summer it is nearly hidden by thft foliage of the surrounding trees. This dwelling is an unpretending man- sion, but has always been the sceno of generous hospitality, while occupied by its princely owner, who has just been carried from it to his long home. ! .- Hehad pwfected the most extended and elaborate plans for tl^e estab- H;4 ""^f"««*i«*y"f ^- EimseKia 1806 by cuUing out the French Corvette La Ta^ttgeti^, off ^^ ^^tet ^^ditt^Z-«ti^Za( three W««««, Mr of «l.«i.B«.i*i waM 'faW t1ie60t^6rii ia whfcli the dtceadta w^s" liWliNr th&fej?bo.;^ved tftlde? m te m^ mention, thit, in 1854, When He ieiikeiftim tjecoirimand »Sm whom had sailed Witts hiaft)r«lx^ eeveA fefers tir'eB^liteA MM with a teJstittroriial of their regttrd. _^ -^, _ j ^ xv^ ^^Wskm^^, 1847, he was {^resented by an Bdgli* Btockhol)ter, of tJK^ 'Hi^BMt'iMimi with a tnagniflcent silver iplver and other ninepie^s. lb* Sl?Sre tHe following inscription :-" This service was presented to Gap- ttte SiStttherland, Sf Hamilton, Canada W.«st, by George Berry Torr, in SknbWtedkment of hia services zealously and faithfallyperforniedw " CaS Sutherland from his position as one of the oldest and i^oatjp- «4«fiiifl«'df cwr steamboat Gaplaias, was extensively known JbTOU^Qut^ the ^e^flo^iindit is not venturing too mnch when we say, that wheirever ^i.e waa Sown he was not only respected, he was loved, Fi^nk, generous, ?nwly, oSSeartedi alwaya re&y to &ympa]thv'« ^ith>he,^nfort^^ate ai»d, relieve tKtetSed,,tewaB,afinJ s-impleof tUe British sailor,, tp wl^ichpfofea^^pn STvS^^bred, Vi«^g)?Pen aln,^ ci^d on ^e|S«nf^te^ ?^Ptfi,%S^»?V^^^ic ideed, before the memo- thfe home of. his joi^^ . in the Nortl^ern part . . flo«jhaman is itsplf a public calamitiy, for it l^avps a g|^ Xh Tap! easily filled up. It W^l^»^,lloMfe•^V-Ma^^ rs of CaBl#wi Sutherland is forgotten by the public of v^^ad^r , v . <;; i^ >^iiiL f 'fcapffiutlierland leaves a widow, three ^^^^.f ^^^ji^W^^H^^^ •his iiSly io^ , He wa^ a |ind,tu Jandand Mher, |fHend b Mj^^^ Pxm patriot; and an unwavering friend. Peace to his ^hes. , ^ ^1, JOHN C. HENt)feR80N, OP HAMILTON. fui tH'j odj Jfrjl Tiife siibioiiiednbti86 6f m. J.Hehder6oii, bWtU^N^^^^ ^f^'iSff'^' _; 'mnS^ 6f the Grekt Western llaitey; id Irbiw -^e "amilton -Sipe^ildfor : . iL.Ji:i.ii. Mr. Henderson, whose melancholy dedth bj^ t^he i^t^^ railway a^de^tje have alreadv chron cled, was a native of Leicestershire, England. . m^kj by *^^!fLc.;l i^ipl7SSc en'^ineer. For sbhife years pref ioui to his departure f?llSs Vative SnJ?y for S^^ ^>^^^ toProffe^r ^"^ll?s'Sn'tmc'SriM*^^^^^^ it. ^trdndmy and mathematics- ^re^'J nrp« charei^ter, anf^ U l^^^^^^^ Tfina* distinffuished scientific pien in England attesting the tact. AS a iwrinei Sibof of tS^ ^i^o^tly after Jhis ^rf ivaUn C^^a he^as 5^?ed^ by ProfessofAirey, the charge of the observatory in Au3^^a.% ft po- ,Sn of great importance, and would have Ployed a lucrative ppej^u^^^^^ |«pl.L?hadd«termuiedto Dush his fortune ^ Canada, ai^d consequently aelBliri^it. He arrived here in the summer of l^*'^'*^! ^fiSPnTrhi SS to fill the omoe of chief clerk of tlie mechpical ^epwiaji^t pTtoe Sfafwestem Rail^ay-^the duties of wh^cfe place he, d^h^jj ffi^^ ^at >r.,r" .._ X- i.u^ *i^^ ;^f u?a «.Aaiafiti.t.inn. which Docorrea m AufittitJwiV, ^ -l M Kirwirt7tle'timi"of Uis wsigwition, wMch'pbcwK§4.mAWR* W** b i. ..*»biU^^p^xo^x^.j.^.^j^^ his^d and amiable SlspoBiton won for UA fc* ; u f respect of* ail who M wy iVt^yco^^ise raft i^i^;,^ tlii^^^d^^^^ li« was. held \n tbs highest estiiiiatipa, and among tne m6cnaiiip»-^wiTQ whom his position frequenUy brought him in contact — he wwan eBt^^aft ftivdHt^, ai^ lione but those Who liave seen, can desctibe thd coristdimtioii ftiifl ^W wkich. the riews o^l^i? death produced aiioop'g^st theffi^ 04 his reaigQiag hii positioh in August last, the feikkjiloyile^ tiad^ Uihd oocasioii of presenting him with a beatftiftil servifc^ of silre* w t^k^^n/ df thelf regard for him- His object for leaving the company's etuBtot Wm to Mtimme ifie agent, in Canada, of the Cyclops li-on W6icra, ^Heh fjoJimdn he hM iA the time of his death; ' , ,f ... ,GHABL£S BROWN, OF SALT. .'> lOioiOt'i;' The following brief reference to Mr. Chartea Bro'wa, of Gdlt, is " fropi )the Toronto Olobe : Among the sufferers in ithe l^te ead Ifagedy, the circumstances attending thodepwise of Mr, Charles Brown, merchant, or Gait, are striking and.affect- ihg. J^r. Brown a^d an elder brother had coni^ to Tdtont6 ib itMce grepara- t^ona ^r the funeral of their aged father, \rti6se re&Aftt^ W6tef ^h^ to Tdr&iiio ipr interment » as the jfamilyhad long U^6 to the Necropolis. Aboi^t tljree o'clock he left tiis ftiend'S hoiiAe,^!- fhqugh earnestly entreated to remain for the night. ^\^ anfietjr to i^joifl his iasters in Qalt, who were mqurhing the loss of their f^thet, \inS8 not to be Over- come^ Provident'aily, his brother resolved to remain till tfext d»j[, bt 1>dth would in ^11 probability have lost their live^. RumOrs reached their auxioiis relatives in Gait eai'ly on Friday, km fbi ^oine tiihe thby beM6VM that both teothers were gone. But •' one wasj taken and the oiher left. " He Who was .^ua siij^enly removed wfis not unprepared, (bt his life was for istHaf yeiirs distmruished by the most ardent and dhogtentaiioiis piety, ^ccbitifiAinled by the most amiable temper and disposii:6n. Hi^ lilfe wafe indeed '^hid with Christ in God, " and we doubt not when the sudden summons camfcf; he rfeceiv- editwith ioy, and was at once welcomed to the Society and enjoyment of the blefet; whtfre his heart had long beeri: At the early age of 32 was this young Christian remdVM ? His remains were removed to Toronto on Mof^ay^ and 'fe^rried fVotti the same honse whence his venerable fethe- had been taken four t'iiyS'Wor^, and deposited in the Saine vattlt. > ^ <• Blessed tire the dead who die in the Lord; yea, saith the B<>irit, they "' re^ f^bm th^ir labotir, and theu- works do follow themi" But we are not of ihat clkss who think that the deaih of the distinguished ^nd eminent ottgbt alone to be recorded. There is one who has passed from amongst us, whofl« destth hais brought ds poignant sorrow to a generous family, as if the greatent in the land had fallen. Well may We exclaim,— Leaved have ^h^if time ijd ^n, ^ _, .^ "I 3IK1 t/And flb^wB td wither ia the iiorth Witid's breatli,. ':■"'". And stars to fodfl-rbpt all mi , lyi. Thou hast all seasons for thine own, Death! ,.j,^f,,., JOHN MOBUBT, OF THOBOl-D. (Froih the Thorold Gazette.) the death of pur friend, Mr. John Morley, Will be regretted by a lai-ge number of pebble in the codnties of Lincoln and Welland. It is a seipious bisineBS as a plo^igh manufacturer. He ^as a shrewd business man, of vary iemperate habits, and otJiei-wiSe of linblemisUed moral characielf. He .left home oil the m r.8t,, fqir the bttrpose oif ^^tatiUshin:! Agte6iis at Haiftil ton, Toronto, and other places for fh* ^tte (>f Ul^ cel«brat«i t)t6tigliB, and S^ltthT^teenx of his brother Cottucilorsbu^^^^^ England, time past, and being a . rvurlecease He has left heretofore. „ ox ^ears of age, at the time of lus decease, n Mr. Morley ^»« ?.^ //*" f^^f^t his meliinoholy death. rwidow and four <^^^'^l^^Z.o., op pok. hope. , .j:.,.;u. r.. .. ' (From the Port Hope Guide.) . ^h otfTue^dJtjf'. toaB»ilw»y. »*!■•■"«*''■'• "'"'"nit.r.Uw.y calamity have nauuea»yp.evi«^„j--;rs^:'irrars^^^£^^^ Sry. About two o'clock the mo^^^ Burnham, Hams ^f "^^m* ^^^^^^^ ThenameroospMssy'""'^, He obtained ^^eral prizes for e"^"', «f/to hi. enterprise an^sk^H^obta^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World's r"'_»'I'^iL»rinChip, county, orProvmcal to passed^o^^ ^^ ^^^^ nor of hiiWAy. fi*- ■™!riB i 1 1 15 manmi. To mj that h« hAd ikults is only to aflknowledg^ n\m liamAti. FMtbl be to his ashes ! He is gone, but his name, associated with the aj^caltural prpsperity of our cqunty and country, will long live after him. ' ' ' '"' *■ BEV. DR. HXISE, OF HAMILTON. !««»;■. Respecting this very worthy gentleman, who was cue of the victims of tbe late accident, Rev. John Butler of this city, furnishes the following brifl^ sketch : — >•. My acquaintance with the late Rbv. Doctor Heise, commenced in this country, about three years ago. Of his previous history I am almost en- tirely ignorant. He has told methat he emigrated from Germany, about eigjiit or nine years since, to the United States, where he remained until 18^4:. ; rt / He was introduced to me as a teacher of German, which language I stik>- died with him for some time. Shortly after I first knew him,he asked to come and board in my house. His request was complied with, and he remained a member of my family until he was so suddenly removed. About a year and a half ago. Dr. Heise was ordained Deacon by the Bishop of Toronto, and was to have been soon admitted to Priest's orders.— He had been, I understood, a preacher among the Lutherans, in Philadelphia, and at some other places in the United States. He was a man of good abilities, especially for language, and who had not neglected the improvement of his intellect. His manner was unpretending, simple and humble. He made many visits among the poor, as he used to call it, '*j>er pedes Apostolonim" and on the whole was one who tried, in my opin- ion, to do his duty to God, and to his fellow-men. The deceased was Doctor of Philosophy of Jena. He has left an aged ipother.m Germany,, who was dependent on him for support ; and for whom, .if iu3iy Buovdd wish to subscribe I shall be happy to Tbie the mediuin of com- munication. — John BuTLEiR. " ,i'.^j' . bum ■ -' MK. AND MRS. EUSSKLL, OF BBANTFORD. ^^OT^atf ) *^'''' (From the Ohri$tiaa messenger.) • •• .! •!';:'(;; , T?he deeply affecting results of the late railroad catastrophe, do not ap- pear in a more heart-moving form as regards the family desolations and be- reavements caused thereby, than in the death of the tw;0 individtiiilis tnen- tioned above. They were in the very prime of life ; had a young family <»f five dear children, the eldest under nine years of age ; they were most happi- ly united in coigugal affection ; had passed thi^ough a season of peculiar anxiety, in reference to their temporal concerns ; the threatening storm had passed over, and the clouds which had enveloped them were all dispersed ; everything to human view seemed to be bright and cheering, promising years of usefulness and delightful enjoyment, when in a few short moments they were hurried away along with many other dear fellow-creatures, from every- thing earthly and all the endearments of life, by one dread crash of death. John Russell, the husband, was a native of Ireland, and was bom in the parish of Maghargell, in the county of Antrim, in the yeai^ 1822, where his father, James Russfell, then resided. He came to Canada when a boy along wiljl|L his father's family, who settled in the township of Esquesing. — When grown to be a young man, he left his father's house and came to live at Paris on the Grand Rivei '.»ng with a youthful associate, who now resides at Owen Sound. Not long afterwards he came to live at Brantford, where he had his home to the time of his death The deceased was always outward- ■!_ _ X"— ! J X- __1I~: _# __1 ^i-^A— ^~.A :„^.,~i._;~..» Vn^!'-" e — 'I ~ii— — /l-J iV a iiTlUUU lU rcUj5iUii, Ul auuvr. steauj auu xuviuriTiuun Dauivs, aiiu attcuucCl regularly the house of God. But he neglected to seek the soul-saving and vital power of the gospel to which he had long listened, which is indispensa- bly requisite in order to bring dying men to the footstool of mercy as humble if lunnlieiuitB to pkad m n rijAt maimer, with eatrnest cries for pardon and ao- S£to%Tvi'tS So? thTough'Se precious Woon»a^^^ n:' h'niuumn 9i{ inm ,iIt; Sklraofi^al^Stilon; fetid Whfet would have been his,r««^antt pi'eclpita'tedl^'to tV^ :(!» »..HJ«8^^ey^rbe^^^ „ ^j - n KBT. ALntBV BOOKKB, OP HAMIli'roN. rn , Rev. Atf^Bp Bookke, Pastor of tiie Park streetBaptist Chtfrcljj/Hama- .;^#, was bo?3i at ;^ottingh^pa, .t;nglaad, in the year IbOO. jHe was lace in th,e year 1842. After remaining in itfonbeal about 8 tabnths, he removed to Hamilton in tJUe spring of 1843, where he succeeded shortly after in organ- izing the regular Baptist Church, of which he remained Pastor until his death. During the whole of his ministrations in England, ^nd for severg^ J®*^ W^ Canada he received no remuneration for bis ^erviQQS, depending ioi*his air- port upon his own private means. Ainong those who lost their lives by the recent awful catastrophe a^ the Desjajrdin Canal, none will be more inisaed tlian the subject of this bnei ; sketch. In laddition to Ids city charge, hu bad a congregation at WeUin^on $qviare, whom he s(upp^ed on a week day. $inpe the ope,nin^ of the Totc^^ l^ilroadh© h^^day^^leiJ Mija^^lf of ft as.?, la^^e orconve^i^^j^-T^^oi^g Jov» : '■ : " ^1^ A fisai 16 thiit plsoci tliat this t^rible iaU-mity oc(ftnfr«d; -^ As ii 6ftri(iti&Q and a CKristfaii toih)9tef ^ #88 tiighiy etrrd doii^Hi^ty «Ae fiMndi^ed by &TI wlio ha(d the prrvilR&re of bis ncquahitahce. Hie deatU will b« « ^Rt and sore lofts, riot only to hb owh chtrrch tfnd congregatitcmy i*hg eFxperieaced. Have been oh aii train when it was offthef^'aok, and^frao such 8aieatkxl2 bow aa thaea. Fei4rfiO 18 tHopf^ift till th* tngloe nrait baTO be«n on the bridge. Heard tba ttnbtm «f the bridge craahiog before I got up. Don't know bow tbe cars were bent, bat obierved tbat tbe rails were spread out, or bent. Tbe speed, I imagine, would be from 5 to 8 miles an bour. I think a man could get on at tbat sp«ed.~- Tbe switchman was at bis post when I got off. Before coming to the switob, tbe Uflual signals wcro given, but heard no signal afterwards. To Mr. Case — My opinion is, tbat tbe engine did not get off the track i^ it bad reached tbe bridge. > To Mr. Richards — 1lie baggage car was towards tbe bay ; saw two men crawl out of it while I looked at it ; it lay nearly east and west, somewhat ol>> liquely. The passenger cars lay nearly crosswise ; could see a portion of tbe flnt car. The last car was nearly perpendicular, resting on tbe top of tbe wall^ To tbe Coroner — Did not wait to examine much, but came to tbe city for medical assistance ; jumped on a farmer's waggon on the road, after running np the bank and crossing tbe suspension bridge. Thinks tbat no portion of the second car was in tbe water ; did not examine closely. To Mr. Magill — Cannot account why one side of the bridge was torn away more than the other. To Mr. Wynne — I believe that I should have known had one wheel of the engine been off the track. Edwabd Levibk (sworn,) — Am baggageman and was on the train when this accident happened. Was in the baggage car next to the engine and ten- der. It was the 4.10 or accommodation train ; we made all tbe stations on time. Henry Urquhart, the express-man, was with me in the baggage por- tion of the baggage-car. Was looking out of the door on the right-hand side when the train came up to the bridge. Noticed nothing wrong. Saw the switchman with a green flag in bis band, which signifies that *'all is right- go on." Just as the engine got to the bridge, heard one sharp signal to put on the brakes, and with that I saw the engine sink through the bridge. Was sitting on the b iggage close by the door. Heard the crashing of the bridge, and saw the engine-driver hold up both hands ; with that I leaped out, and lighted on the parapet of the bridge. Had just time to leap out and sav^ myself. v? : I In answer to Mr. James Roy — Was going at the usual low rate of speed. To the Coroner — Saw tbe cars go over. The trucks of the last car were left on the track. Did not observe the engine strike the bridge ; it seemed to sink down through the bridge. Cannot say whether the engine was off the track or not. It did not strike me as being off the track. Felt no jolt- ing. Did not see the locomotive deviate from the track. Was looking at iti and am sure it did not strike the side of the bridge. To Mr. James Osborne — The first noise was the creaking of timbers. — Could see along the bridge. Just as the engine-driver whistled, the engine was going on to the bridge. Had told Mr. Muir that witness thought there was something wrong with the locomotive, or the engine-driver would not have whistled ''on brakes." He whistled just as he went on the bridge. To the Coroner — The entrance of the engine on the bridge and the whis- tle were simultaneous. To Mr. Richards — Thinks the engine began to sink before the whole of it was on the bridge. The locomotive appeared to sink down by the fore- part. Thinks all the locomotive, but not Uie tender, was on the bridge when it sank. Was not more than a foot from tbe edge of the wall when I jumped off. The bridge was broken about a month since, by the breakingof an axle of tbe locomotive, which broke up some 7 or 8 ties of the bridge. We changed cars for a day or so there, until the bridge had been mended. To Mr. Nickerson — The marks on the ties where the bridge was broken before, were between the rails. Saw^some fresh marks on Thursday last 19 The marks on the ties nrast hare been oocasioned by the breaking of som« portion of the locomotiye. Thomas Tbibute.— Am switch-man and brakesman at the Deojardin'i Junction ; was on duty when this accident occurred. When the signal was given, I opened the switch. The train came on. David Crombie, anothe- •witcbman, had got one foot on the steps, but did not get on as he observed the locomotive going down. He had gone about tbe length of a passenger car before he jumped otf. Saw Barrett and Mr. Muir jump off', and knew some- thing #as wrong. Could not see the locomotive. When it passed me I did not observe anything was wrong. Saw a man come out to jump, but be went down with the cur. Just as Mr. Muir jumped tha hind car went over. The hind truck remained on the track. Heard no cracking, und saw nothing wrong till all went over. From the switch to the bridge is about 70 or 71 feet : have been told so. It is usual to blow for " brakes on" " brakes off again." Heard one sharp whistle afterwards for brakes on. Could not see the locomotive, but ehould think that the whistle was given just as the locomotive got on the bridge. No. 3 freight train had pasfed down a little before, and in passing over it afterwards, I had examined the bridge, and found it all right. It was my duty to examine it after any train passed over it. When I went to look at the smash-up, some one must have turned my switch on the main line.— Near the telegraph olUce there was a bright mark, and further on a rail was bent, and the chair broken, as if the wheel had not been on the rail and then a part oi the rail was cut off and two connecting rods of the switch were broken as if the flange of the wheel had cut them through. One of the rode was dragged down the line. To Mr. Richards,— I examined the bridge closely. Do so every time I go on duty, and also alter the passage of each train. Spent about fifteen minutes each time. When the train came in, I was standing three feet west of the switch. Observed a joltiug till it got to the bridge. The last car had passed me when the whistle blew. Could not see the locomotive. Saw my fellow- switchman try to get up on the hind platform. Am positive that all the train had passed me before the shrill whistle sounded. Saw both sides of the bridge after it passed me. Did not see the locomotive or cars deviate from the track. It was on the Toronto line where the marks of which 1 speak, were made.— The first was about the distance from the switch as where the inner rails cross each other. Saw a sort of scratch between the connecting rods pf the switch. ^ To Mr. Gwynne,~Cannot say how long a time had elapsed after the freight train had passed. I was then in the house, and Crombie waa at the switch. I had plenty of time to examine the bridge. I turned the switch when I heard the whistle, and Crombie was standing near me. The switch 1% always right for the main line and we have no right to open it until a Toronto train whistles. 1 am sure that tbe chain or chair was broken by that train. It could not be turned if broken. David Crombie, sworn— Am bridge-tender and switchman at tbe Desjar- dm B Canal. Was on duty on Thursday afternoon. Goes on duty at seven clock in the morning, and generally leaves by the Toronto train. My proper time to leave i^ six o'clock at night, but my brother-switchman generally relieves me in time to ride home. The switch was adjusted for the Toronto train by him. I was near by, and got on the train as usual. It was going at a speed of about six or seven miles an hour. I experienced a jolt, and heard a sharp" whistle at the same moment, and leaped off. I was only on the steps. 1 looked forward, and saw that tbe bridge and the engine were falling dowj. I called to out Mr. Muir and others to jump for their lives. Cannot say whether — "-s,-"-' "«o •cjij.ticijr uu fcuc iniugu wuCu ii uuiuiuuuct'a laiuug. xae 0100 truck was left on tbe rails. I think all the locomotive was o/er the bridgs, but am not certain. The car w^«» standing up against the wall and I went to get a ropt to be let dowa into ^reioae thoMuside. I tzamintd tbt tra«k rdfilbA, and fboBd tbaJi tibo rail Taroato w«rds of tba f^tcb waslig^ there was a mark ou the rods and on the chair iti wbioh U^ rail i»iet. T09 Haark WGM OD the middW ; it was or qo pongequcnce. Ooe of the rods wf« cut ri^t through. There wore fresh mwksou the tics up to the bridge, occa,$ioQ^, I believe, by one of the truclc-wheels getting oi|' the track. My r^asoq for Ibtakimg no ia, that the larae engiiouc got diJ^naged jut»t at the t>ait>e npot i^ Jupip last, and thea the Bame kind of marks were madjo, and the wheel caiiic wlt]i(u^ about au inch of the ad^t^of the tirabei on which the rail \y»s fixed. At thiU tlmd the traiu get over ia safety, and the brakes wore not whistled dfwn tm it got over. To Mx. Robert Osborne. — Did nx^ me the Engine Driver whc^ t^^.e^pe went down. To Mr. Richardn. — I was about 12 or U yard# o£F the bridgi^ ^fbei^ I jumpf d. The eingice and tender went down together, a^d piust have b?en qp tiu bridge at the 9ame moment. Tribute came on duty about 8i;c n^nut^? before tho Toronto train came. It was about ten minutes betore that, that the Creight train passed. 1 followed the freight train, and examined the bri^g^. Blverjthlng appeared to be right uptil the locomotive got to the bridge. Do not know whether Ttibute exatained the bridge or not. T^jiro mi^uteB were sutticieat to make the examination. Uad no instructions to make a mmnt^ examiuation. Tribute could not have spent many minutes. It was a hfL'avj^ freight train of about fil'teen or twenty cars, and drawn by a heavy £nglis]^ en^ue. There were marks made by a train in February, an4 others in Jun^ last, a« if the wheels had been off the track. When freight tr^in runoff, twelve or fourteen ties an^l the corner part were broken. None of the stringers wer^ injured. Believes no part of th'i bridge, which was injured on that opqasion, but was taken away and replaced by new work. The vepeel which struck the bridge last summer with her most, made scarcely any observable mai'^ on the »mi sfde of tb^} bi'idge. -^ The Inquest was adjourned ab^ut seven p. m., to meet again. on Taaedajr attlie Mechanics' Institute at eleven o'clock a. m. Thij-d Day. — Tuesday, March, 17. Tfce Jury met at the City Hall, at 2 o'clock, P. M. Mr. Coroner 6ult< said as the wreck of the biridge bad been tekenoiitiof tile water, he would suggest that before proceeding to take the evidence, the Jurors woRld proceed to the Bcene of thedisaBter, and view the tunbers of' the bridge j which had been preserved. The Coroners and Jury then pro- ceeded to the spot, with thfe understanding that they would proceed with i^ evidence on their return. itii The Jury met again at 7 o'clock in the evening, to hear further evidence. Edwin Richaardson. I am conductor on the Hamilton and Toronto branch. Was infost Office car ; was asleep. The first shock that I felt was the floor giving away, and the breaking of timber, and felt the ashes from the stove flying about me, and the water rushing in. Was not acting as conductor. Wbeu the cfir fell down, I kicked the glass out of the window and, got out, bijt could render no assistance, as ray back was injured. After the e;5citement was somewhat ovur, I asked Crombie (the switchman) what was the cai^se of the accident, he said it was a loose wheel or sprung axle. I got a lamp ar^d -went out and examined the track, near the switch, and from that I tracked tiije wheel to the abutment of the bridge. My impression was tha^t only one ol.the wheels was ofll I believe that so long as the engine rem^ii^ed on tl^e iffkilft the bridge was BBrfcctly sale, but even dividing the we'^bt of the loop- iu^lv%, tl^ wou.d uavcsuliicieiitX^l to break the timber^ of the br[4j|e. Z ilaive Mfn tke timbere of the bridge, but they are not now as.. ir%f T ' ^smk I ^««!ifi4^^e nm^m iB« M( Mai4 ^ HP tp t]^e WBP> • yf((T9 Tre9h ijaarka. I always thougbt the bridge was safe, anlcBs an engine j|pt oflf the track. To Mr. Richards— The locomotive would break the cross pieces and fall tbroHgb. The elde pieces, too, would give way, There are five bearings to ly^at enffine. To Mr. Cummings.— (Examining the diagram.) There was ice and enow there. The marks are now mo-tly trodden out. MicuABX. DuFFKY—Am a breaksman on the Toronto and Hatnllton road ; have been such fourt«en months. Waa standing between the baggage and the first passenger care, as the train passed Uje switch ; I naw Crombie try to get 00, but he did not seem to do so , and I heard a whistle to put on bralicB. then turned my heed and immediately jumped. Felt motion of the engine, driver had left off steam. This sensation was felt about the length of ba*f a car af- ter the whistle. Saw that the engine had gone and jumped, feiliag about four yards off the wall. When I looked round, all the cars had gone over. Don't recollect seeing any trucks on the track. Jumped off on the side next Uoodas. It would take about a minute to run from the switch to the bridge. I supposed tho whistle was to clo-c up to permit Grombie to get on. Was go- ing about six or seven miljs an hour. The engineer whistled on brakes about the length of a car off the bridge. It was about the length of the engine, tender and baggage car from the switch when he whistled. To Mr. Roy. — Sometimes I put on the brakes without being signalled, in oaae of crossings and bridges, or when the train was on a curve* To Mr. Gwynne.— I think I had not come opposite th« wall of th^ bridge. To Mr. Richards. — Cannot say positively that the engine was not on the bridge when be heard the whistle. Edward Barrbtt— Was conductor on the ill-fated train. Have been three years in the Company's service, and a little over a year as conductor. I vms standing on the Ibrward platform, on the hind car. Heard the whistle, and jumped, as I heard some one call out*- jump!" I lit about half-way along the wall. I called to Mr. Muir, who jumped. So did Mr. Jeseup, and anoWier man tried to jump. The locomotive was about ha'i-way between ttie switch and the bridge when I heard the whistle. Felt no unusual motion on the train. Have been on a locomotive when it ran off the track, but felt no jolting, running about twenty-five or thirty miles an hour. Was not now go- ing more tiian eight miles an hour. The switch was all right. Saw the switchman with a green flag. Experienced no motion of the cars. Thinks something was wrong with the engine, or the bridge would not have given way, that is, it the engine were on the track. Examined the track immediate- ly, and found that a piece of the rail had been cut off. It was about ioftr Inches long, and perhaps one-eighth of an inch thick. To Mr. James Osborne.— -Was not looking nt the engine before I jumped. When 1 loolced she was gone, and I could not see her. To Mr. Richards— I jumped when I heard the cry. The whistle was a few seconds before. The crack and the cry were at the same time. Have but a poor recollection about it. Yi To Mr. Gwynne— The marks were fresh. , , To the Coroner— The hind truck of the last car remained on the rails. Wm. K. MuiB— Is Assistant Superintendent of the Great Western Rail- way. Has been in the Company's service for three years and a half. Was on thp train when the accident occurred. Was sitting on the last seat of the last car reading, on approaching the bridge. When the car which I was in was on the switch, felt a jerking motion. The engine had not then reached the bridge. Got up and opened the door, and saw Cromtjie, the switchman, boidlng up his hands, and heard him sirig out to lump. Leaptd off the platform, and landed on the hridi^Q a few l^et tiom the edge or the caital. Wben I had turned a ^tnf' rottnd t^iB cnpffne and cars had all pfone down. Thinks that one of the wheels of the locomotive was oif the tracR, ocuasiuoed by the breaking of an axl«. Has seen the bridge severely tested, and couHidern it perfectly pafe. Never had any complaints made to him in relation to the unsafe condition of the bridge. Is quite satistlod that the passenger cars were on the track ; thinks that the marks on the ties and rods were matle by the broken wheel— does not think that tl»ey could bave been made by any othr part of the machinery. At seven o'clock the Jury adjourned till Wednesday, to hear fiirther •▼idence. Fourth Day. — Wednesday, March 18. The Jury mot at seven o'clock in the evening at the City Hall, Coronen Bull and Rosebrugh presiding. DriNA HousB sworn.— I live on the Toronto side of the bridge, about 100 Tarda from the track, on the north side of the track near the edge of the lake. 1 was at home when the train came up. I saw it just as it was at the switch. I beard a noise soon after the locomotive passed the switch — a rumbling noise, not the usual noise of the train— that attracted my particular attention ; I looked and Instantly heard the whistle. I supposed at the time, and made the remark to my daughter, a girl of the age of 16, that the cars were off the track. The next I saw was the engine give a kind of a shake when it was just at the Toronto end of the stone work ; the engine gave a quiver ; I saw the engine plain till it went on the bridge ; the masonry partly hid the engine from my view, but could see Ihe smoke pipe very plainly ; it was shaking : am certain of it ; the cars all gave a shako ; when the locomotive came to the bridge could see ii quite plainly ; when the fore part went on the bridge, the hind part tipped up and gave a shake , then it seemed to shoot on a little further ; saw it break loose from the baggage-car ; could see a space between them ; the baggage car was just coming on the edge of the bridge ; the engine was half way on the bridge when it canted ; the front part of the engine went down first ; did not see it fall against either side of the bridge ; saw the bag- gage car jro down as well as the rest of the train ; noticed a man on the engine; ■aw him jump ; this was when the locomotive commenced to tip ; don't know whether it was the engineer or not ; saw two men jump oft" the hind car ; the baggage car whirled round towards our house ; the first passenger car ran along, tipped up, and turned upside down ; it turned over sideways— I thought 80 at the time ; ran out to see if I could assist any one ; that is all I could see ; was in the house with the window closed. William Scott deposed. — lam foreman of the track repairers from the bridge to near Dundas. My section includes the bridge ; have been in that capacity since October last ; have to go over the track twice every day ; had been over twice on Thursday ; the last time was about 4 o'clock in the after- noon ; at that time the track and bridge were all right ; have to see if the stringers of (he bridge are closely " packed." I did so on Thursday iisy bave been ten minutes going across the bridge and back ; have seen tbrne locomotives go over the bridge together ; they were drawing a heav^ * A>i : there was no crack ; always considered the bridge safe. James T. Sergeant said, I have formerly been Inspector of masonry, bridges, &c., ontlie Great Western Railway ; left in October last, after be- ing 6J years in the company's employ ; went to the scene of the late acci- dent at about 7 o'clock ; <^i(I not examine the marks until Tuesday. Some 18 or 20 months ago theivr v»^i a some additional floor-joists put in ; it was supposed there was enov^.i ; • tlj strength of the bridge; saw 2 engines running over the bridge v :geih t, before that time, and I noticed the track on taS «ri-^g6 settle slightly. At that time the longitudinal etiingeib were pine ; afterwards they were of oak, I ordered the additional needle-pins in ; It stamad to ba stiff enough after that ; saw nothing unsafe afterward ; ntTsr - u i8ft4« My rtport that the brldse wii nniftfe ; when the bridge wti being Ml np I laid It look*d slight, and would not go over it before an engine had driven over. Bj the continnal running of trains over the bridge it would be- come wealter, and if not looked after might become unsafe ; think the tim. horH were broken by a dead weight ; saw no marks of a blow strong enongh to bavo carried the bridge down ; it may have been a sudden jerk, like the engine dropping down. While I had charge of the bridge, I went over it every day to see that the bolts were screwed tlglit ; Saw no mark on the ties •8 if the locomotive had fallen ; some bolts would often get loose — those thro' the end of the diagonal braces ; can't say how often ; it might happen once a week ; the reverning of an engine on the bridge might have an Tnjurioue effect upon it ; when I reported anything wrong, the Company always made everything right ; should think the marks on the ties looked very slight for ft wheel running on them ; the quality of timber in the first ties was, in some of them, not so good as it might be. If the bridge had been made with ■troi ger ties, and planked with 3 or 4 inch oak planks, it might possibly have sustr I "d an engine falling off the track. I have been on other railways be. fore ; I think the original broccs and stringers in the bridge are too slight; ffhen the ties were broken about a month ago, I should think the structure of the bridge must have suffered ; every "rack" hurts a bridge of that kind. To Mr. Riohards.—! have been on a train when a locomotive has run off the track ; think the whole train would be shakea by'such an event ; don't think the marks on the ties were caused by a locomotive ; if a locomotive had run off the track, it would have made a mark on the needle beams ; saw no mark such as would be made in that case ; the track may have spread, and the engine dropped through ; have observed where the ends were broken off ; one side broke at a splicing that is on the lake side ; the breakage was at about the centre of the splice ; there are three iron bolts through it. A bolt, driven in " snug," docs not weaken the wood as much as a loose one; think two bolts might have been sufficient ; Mr. J. T. Clark was engineer on the road when the bridge was built ; Mr. Whipple constructed it ; told him at the time the timbers were slight ; slight bridge requires more attention than s heavy one ; when I noticed the bridge iHjnd. years ago, the cords dd not bend ; have oliserved a crack in one of the needle beams, which looks like an old crack. My impression on seeing the remains of the bridge was, that it was broken by a dead weight ; if the needle benms had broken, some part of the care would probably have been left ; think a heavier bridge might have been eifer ; ifadooringhad been built up even with the rail, strong enough, Lft would have been safer in my opinion than it is now. Fifth Day— Thursday, March 19e trestle work carefully, several times, more than ten minutes each time: swear every bolt was right, and that I saw no split in the siding ; saw no spl It at the splicing ; there might be a sun check ; should take no notice of that ; would not be certain whether there was an old check or not ; don't recollect any check or split any ,vhere along the bridge ; think the ends distance from the " scarf," but I di(' ' did not examine it are broken a short ^^. closely, not so closely as I did in February. The Jury adjourned at half-past 11 o'clock, to meet again on Monday, at 2, p. m. r, . jt Sixth Datj. — Monday, March 23. The Jury met at the City Hall at 2 o'clock p. m., and the preparations for raising the submerged locomotive having been completed, proceeded, in company with the members of the City Council, to the bridge, to view the proceedings. Over a thousand person?, were present, among whom were the Hon. Mr. Killaly, Assistant Commissioner Board of Works, of Toronto, J. P. Clarke, Esq., Chief Engineer State of New York, T. C. Keefer, Esq., Civil Engineer, and members of the press from Toronto and Hamilton. The locomotive was raised with pullies and derricks on the top of the water and showed the forward truck wheel of the engine on the right side broken off. From the posture of the engine as it lay on the bottom of the canal on its side, it seems quite impossible that the wheel was broken by the fall, everyting goes to show that the axle was broken, either on the bridge or very near it, and the breaking of the bridge was from the concussion which ensued. The bridge was tested with three heavy English engines attached, and there was not the slightest vibration perceivable. It seemed remarkably strong. - Seventh Day. — Tuesday, March 24. At 2 o'clock, p. m., the Jury assembled at the City Hall: The first wit- ness examined was one of the surviving passengers. Mr. J, K. Clare — was in the first car of the fatal train ; is a dry goods merchant in Hamilton ; was in the first car of the train on the day of the ac- cident ; felt a jerk and heard a whistle of the locomotive at the same time ; then felt a second jerk, and at the same time felt the car falling ; sut about three seats from the stove ; thouocht we were pretty much near the bridge ; all I remember of what happened in the car was one loud scream as wc -wect down ; could not say that any one got out ; had my child on my kn^e ; could not say in what way we were going down ; only felt as if I had di-opped down straight from some high place ; when the car began to go down I was in my seat, three seats from the stove, and the next thing I remember was, I felt myself in a heap of rubbish two seats from where the stove stood, and tow- ard.q thft eno'inn • p.milrl -nnt qorr •^I'linf yrrr^" +V.(iAf?t? Anthont Shbrwoot) — Is ft civil engineer ; is at present engaged on the Buffalo, Brantford and Goderich Railroad, and has been engaged with Mr. Lock, C. E., at Southampton. Was also engaged on the Lancashire & Carlisle Railway as assistant engineer ; has been about a year on a Spanish railroad ; was engineer there ; came to Hamilton some 10 months ago ; was engaged for a short i,ime in the mechanical department of the G. W. R ; from seeing a toain pass over that bridge, I made an examination ; calculated that it woxild bear about three times the strain that was ordinarily put upon railroad l^ridges ; merely measured the timber, but did not look as to the quality of the timber ; it was about nine months ago that I made this examination and calculation. A written statement of the examination made by Mr. Sherwood, was then read. To Coroner — I have examined the renewed bridge ; there are a few more noodle boams than are in the plan from which I have made that calculation : the scarfetoo are joined rather different in the new bridge, aod this would Add to its strength. To a Juror— If the bridge had been planked it would have distributed the weight, but did not think a single plank would have kept it from falling flirongh, or it would have turned off through the lattice work. No wooden ' ' • bridge oottld have stood the amount of impact of saoh a sfaoek aa tke fall of the "Oxford," « i— o hm* ui To a Jiirvman— Have seen them composed of wood and iron ; the usual way h to put Iron girders and plank across, but in such cases the trains have been known to break through upon such a train. The only sure way to avoid them would be to stop the engine and go over slow. """^w To Ur. Richards-By the term impact I mean a striking : 18 tons falling a foot and going at 7 miles would produce a force of 380 tonHit would leavl a mark wheh it would so fall ; it would cut the beams right through ; a freieht oar would strike with a force of 190 tons or one half ; it would^not make a scratchy- but would cut or crush right through them. To Mr. Richards-Idid not observe any brashy timber there, nor any that was decayed. I saw some that were cracked, but thought they m^ havj broV'jn by the blow. The lattices may have been made of medium qualities of timber. A bridge of this kind is not likely to be impaired in three veara. it may in five years. , j^'**'^ »• . To ^r. Beecher-The calculation as to the relative strength of oak and pme IS, pine 90 to 112 Canadian oak and common pine, seasoned, is prefer- red to oak. I do not think it would have been desirable to use oak fbr those needle beams. In England it is calculated 125 tons would break a bridtfe It 18 considered 2i is sufficient. The Desjardin bridge I calculate 4i to 1* which would give 3^ above required strength. I have looked at thi-» bridflre scientifically. I know nothing of the state of the timber. Prom what I ktt'*- of the bridge, that weight as a dead weight could not have broken it iTit could, no bridge in the world is safe. Mr. Brunell has said that where a short bridge was dangerous he would rather go over quick than slow. There was less deflection when the trial was made yesterday, when the trains went over rapidly, than when taken over slowly. I consider the accident occurred ftom the broken wheel. Had the engine come up whole, I should be at a loss to know how the bridge had broken. The Jury adjourned at six o'clock to meet again at eight o'clock The first witness examined upon their re-asaembling was Andrew Talcott. who said— I reside in Cincinnati, Ohio, and am a ci- vil engineer. I am Chief engineer and superintendent of the Ohio and Missis- sippi Railroad. 1 was, before that, on the Richmond and Danville railroad Virginia, as chief engineer for eight years. I have been in Hamilton since this morning. I have made an examination of the fragments of the bridite and of the engine. I have drawn up a paper embodying my views It is L follows : — .^ o rf . « « »o From this examination I am of opinion there was no lack of stren-'th in the bridge fbr the safe transit of the heaviest trains. This conclusion is ar- on!fn^,u **''"'"* calculation Of the strength of the transits; for assuming but 8000 lbs per square inch for the tensile strength of the timbers on the bridire 1 and the lower chords should bear a load of 272 tons, the main tension braces each bO tons each, and the counter braces each about 30i tons gross The greatest weight that would be brought on the bridge by coupling two of the Company's heaviest engines, it is believed, could not exceed 72 tons • but to get this weight upon the bridge it must be distributed over its entire length, and consequently be equally borne by the main four braces, ^hich gives a load of 18 tons, which is only 3-lOths of ^he nomiUal strentrth : the counter oraces Demg 8 iu number, and each affording about one-half the re- sistance of the mam braces, are loaded in about the same ratio of their strengths. It might be shown that the upper chord floor beams, and track stringers were as strong in proportion, and consequently, that the structure was oapA-' ble of bearing over three times the weight of elny train thwt oiftUd be put 5p- 28 on it, which leaves as large a margin for casualities as will be found in a very great proportion of the railroad bridges in the United States. I thought proper to state what load the bridge would carry, because I find in the mind of the public an impression that this bridge had not sufficient strength to bear an ordinary train. My examination on the ground showed clearly, to my mind, that the cause of the accident was the breaking of the axle, and displacement of a wheel before the engine touched the bridge. This estimate is calculated on taking the thickness of the chords at their weakest point— allowing tor the bolt holes and scarfing, although that is not the point at which there is the greatest tension. To Mr. Ricliards.— If 136 tons were put on the centre of the bridge, it would bear it ; if distributed, the bridge would bear 272 tons. That is the strength of the chords — not the floor beams : have assumed the truss to be 17 feet in height, the length of the bridge 72 feet ; took the minimum section of the timber ; the bolts do not reduce the tensile strength in greater proportion than that of the timber cutaway ; a piece of timber 12 inches broad, with a 4 inch bolt hole in the centre is stronger than an eight inch piece, as to its power to withstand a train ; near the splice was not the weakest part, because it was not in the centre ; if the bridge is shorter than 1 assumed, it is stronger than I calculated. I examined the axle o. the engine ; found the fracture smooth- ed down, as if it had run some distance in that state ; have seen an engine on the traclt that made no deeper impression thau those on the rail ; my impres- sion on examining the timbers was, that the cowcatcher had pitched forward and cut them ; the locomotive would have cut through everything it touched. To Mr. Beecher, — My whole life has been passed in engineering ; was educated at West Point ; was for 18 years a military engineer — and for 20 years a civil engineer ; saw nothing in the timbers to cause the accident ; have no doubt in my own mind, and there can be none in that of any well informed man as to the cause of the accident ; some time last winter a " How'' bridge, with an arch, in the Indianapolis and Cincinnati railroad, was cut through by a car running off the track ; don't know a single bridge in America that would stand when such a force of impact should come in contact with it ; am sure the axle was not broken by a fall— it is not quite fresh, but a little smoothed by friction. If the ties of the bridge had been made of oak, it would not have strengthened it, in fact I think pine was better. To Mr. Richards. — I saw no decayed timbers. Wintess here narrated a case in which a wheel had run for miles, after the axle had broken in the journal, and beam rubbed quite smooth. To a Juror.— It might be better for the switch to be a little further away from the bridge, if practicable. To another Juror.— It is not certain, by any means, that the defect could have been discovered if the train had stopped before coming to the bridge. WiLLiAJtf Gabrick sworn, said— I am a carpenter ; served a 5 years' ap- prenticeship, about 18 years ago, and have been employed as a carpenter ever since ; am in the employ of the Great Western as foreman in repairing bridges and culveris ; have been foreman of the repairs of the Desjardin bridge , put 12 needle beams into the bridge in August last ; that was "extra," not repairs; after the accident in February last, I put in 17 beams ; 11 had been broken, and 6 others chipp6d ; only one of the braces was broken ; that was on the Hamilton side of the Canal, and was repaired ; many of the bolts in the lattice- work were loose ; was in the first passenger car when it went down : was at the front, four or five Reats from the onri r>n tha inV« c;a^ . +k» «-«* *i,: — t knew that was wrong, after the whistle blew, was the car taking two jerks ahead ; looked out of the end window, and saw the end of the masonry on the n.,n^o.a ""'" ; had got on my feet to look ; thought the engine was at the end Dundas side of the bridge dowQoa dge ; There was but a very short time between the two jerks : the id»t when I felt the car tip ; the oar went down over the a sat abut i ment and tamed a somerset, I think, end over end ; when the car fell, I fonnd myself in the water : was not mach hurt. Some men may have fallen upon me ; can't say what happened during the turning of the cars ; got out through the window ; was hauled up with a rope, and went into Tribute's house : waa not able to examine the track for eight days after. To Mr. Richards. — The timbers I replaced were mostly towards the Toronto side of the bridge ; the first one or two were not much injured ; some were passed over by the car wheels, and only chipped. The car was completely on the bridge before it stopped ;as a general rule ; I examine the bridge once a- month ; at the Toronto end of the bridge there was one needle beam left in which was injured by the February accident. ' To Mr. Beecher. — A good job was made of the bridge — it was made as strong as it was before ; the bridge was inspected again five or six days after that 'j the weight of the locomotive and train could not have broken the bridge keepmg on the rails. * The Jury then adjourned at 11 o'clock. Mffhth Day.— Wednesday, March 25. The Coroners and Jury met at the City Hall at 2 o'clock, p. m., and were to proceed to the Desjardin Canal to make a more thorough examination of the injuries the locomotive had received, but in the meantime information ar- rived that the chains by which the engine had been suspended had given way, and that the "Oxford" was again submerged in the canal. It was then ar- ranged that the examination of the swing-bridge, across the Welland Canal, built upon the same principle as the one at which the unfortunate catastrophe had occurred, be made. A special train having been placed at their disposal by the Railway Company, the Jury, in company with the members of the Press, and several engineers, proceeded to Thorold to inspect the bridge. By such inspection it was believed they would be satisfied as to the strength of bridges so construcetd. The examination having been made, the jury re- turned to Hamilton, and adjourned to 7 p. m., Thursday. Ninth Day.— Thursday, March 26. The Jury met at 8 o'clock in the City Hall. Mr. Whipple of Albany was first examined ; he said, I am a civil en- gineer, and have been engaged in that occupation for 25 years ; I have devoted more attention to the subject of bridge building than to any other branch I have been engaged in that business lor 15 years ; have bridged the New York State Canals ; have built mostly iron bridges ; have built but few railway bridges ; have built four or five for the New York and Erie railroad : built the Desjardin bridge, and the Welland Canal bridge ; have methods of calcu- lating the strength of bridges, different for each kind ot bridges : generally proportion timbers according to their strength ; have examined the De^ardin Canal Bridge since the accident, and have drawn up a set of statements con- cerning it ; these were as follows : — " I have examined the draw or swing bridge over the Desjardin Canal on the Great Western Railway, with a view of ascertaining its strength and condition as to general safety, and fitness for the purpose for which it has been employed, as well as the cause and manner of the casualty, by which about forty feet of the lower part of the structure from the northerly end was broken out, as I am informed, on the 12th instant, allowing a train consisting of a locomotive; With its tender, a baggage and two passenger cars to fall from a height of forty or fifty feet into the canal below. Not having had an oppor- tunity of viewing the scene of the catastrophe till about a week after its occur- rence, when considerable changes had been niade in the condition of things, nay judgment must necessarily be made up from a consideration of the nature of materials, principles and proportion employed in the conatruction of the 80 hMgei and the condition and appearance of the broken and nnbroken parts of ^ structure, and other connected objects I have seen there since the acci- dent The fiuperBtfucture of the bridge was built by me for the Great Wes- tern Railway Company, in the vear 1863, and as I am informed and believe, has been in use from the time the section of the road on which it is located was first brought into use, till the time of the late accident. It was constructed in accordance with a plan designed and arranged by me, at the instance of J. T. Olarke, Esq., of the Great Western Railway— the instructions being to make the primary and paramount object to consist in the safety and sufficiency of the structure, as to strength, with as great a degree of attention to the case and convenience of working it as a draw-bridge as might be consistent with the more important consideration of strength and stability as a bridge for railroad purposes. The plan and specifications having been submitted and adopted, a contract had been entered into for the construction of the bridge, together with another of the same kind to cross the Welland Canal near Thorold, which was also built in the same season, and has been in use ever since the opening of that section of the road, a period of about three and a half years. Now, although the fact that those two bridges have sustained a heavy railroad traffic for be- tween three and four years, without exhibiting indications of a want of stability can scarcely be regarded otherwise than as strong evidence in favour of their fitness for their intended purpose, especially since they form two instances with like results, without any of an opposite character to balance or neutralize- still it is not in ray estimation evidence sufficient to justify the conclusion that they are unexceptionable and fully reliable structures. Before I can be satis- fled as to the stability of a structure, I must not only know that it has endured a certain-length of time, and been exposed to certain tests, but I must also have evidence that tlie materials contained in it, are not exposed to the action of forces to which similar materials have sometimes yielded. For instance, having from the best available evidence arrived at the con- clusion that a certain material is safe and reliable under a certain stress, and of doubtful reliability, under a great stress— it I find a structure in which that material is exposed to a stress that has been regarded as of doubtful safety, I cannot affirm or have full confidence in such structure, because it bas in one or any moderate number of instances, endured severe usage and trying tests. That structure is alone worthy of confidence which exhibits a quality of mate- rial and proportions of parts from which stab'lity might be reasonably infer- red without the test of usage, and then if the test of usage sustains the deduc- tions of theory and calculations, we might fairly rely on the safety of such a tvork, with as much confidence as human atfairs are ever entitled to. I pro- pose to explain briefly the principles on which the bridge in question was planned and proportioned, to aid in the formation of a judgment as to its safe- ty and reasonable claims to confidence. The irussess which constitute the ul- timate supporting power of the structure, are composed of upper and lower parallel and horizontal chords or stringers, connected by a system of diagonal pieces forming a lattice work between the chords, with no vertical pieces ex- cept at the end. This form ot trussing (chord-^ and diagonals without verti- cals) has been theoretically demonstrated, I think beyond reasonable dispute, to combine strength with lightness, to a greater degree than any other form in use, and consequently is the best adapted to the construction of a draw bridge. Having fixed on a form of trussing, the next thing was to manage the general proportion — i. e. the depth of truss, and the ^.umber and length of panels. The importance of tying and bracing the upper chords to preserve them on line, as well as to maintain the trussess in their proper vertical po- sition, required the trusses to be high enough to allow the upper work to clear the smoke pipes ol locomotives ; and of such height as was sufficient to give the truss that rigidity required to prevent sagging or drooping off the ends during the flwiugiag of the bridge upon its turn table, the adopted height of ■• I ■' t iboat 18 feet naturally saggested itself. The lengtfafidf iMtfieli JbUoUiei flrom the propriety of having the chorda supported ohce in 8 or 10 feet, and it was readily decided, to form a panel of 16 feet over the turn table, with g paoelB of about 9 feet for the longer, and 4 of the eanra length for the short- er arm ; the lattice woriv being arranged aH for two stretches of bridge— one runoing from the turn table acroBS the canal, and the other to the h^l abut- ment on the land, to be loaded as a counterpoise to the long arm of ^he bridge — Ihc upper and lower chords being extended continuously across the turn table^to connect the two. The general arrangement of ihe truss Jjeing decided on, the next object for consideration was to determine suitable uize? and proportions for the several parts or pieces of which the truss was to be epraposed. This required a consideration of the strength of the material to be used in the several parts, with the kind and amount of stress to which each was liable to be subjected. White Pine, principally, is the timber used iii the structure under consideration. The ability of this material to resist the fqrce tending to break or destroy it, varies according to the manner in which the forces are applied. Experiments have shown that to break a piece of sound pinti timber by tension, requires a force sometimes as great as ten or eleven thousand pounds to the square inch of cross section, and that it will very rarely yield to a force of less than five or six thousand. I have, ther^^n^, adopted the rule that it is safe to employ white pine where its greatest le- gitimate stress or tension cannot exceed one thousand pounds tb the square inch. The force required to crush pine in the direction of its fibres, is not m great, ordinarily, as that required to pull it asunder— being 6 or 6 thousand pounds, or upwards, to the square inch. 1 have, therefore, concluded that, in very short pieces, it is safely reliable under a pressure from end to end of 1000 lbs to the square inch of section, or 600 lbs to the inch for pieces of lengths not exceeding eighteen or twenty times the least diameter^i To a force pressins? on pine timber in a direction perpendicular to rtsflbreB, it will not yield injuriously with less than 250 lbs. to the square inch. If the pressure extend over the whole aurfhce, and if fhe pressuTe extend to 6nty » small part of the length and breadth of the timtoer, it may be increased withon* bad effects, to twice that amount ; for instance, a washer under the head or nut of a bolt, acting on pine, should cover t^o square inches for etery 1000 lbs. of tension to which the bolt is liable, to prevent its being drawn injnridusly into the wood. There are also some parts of a timber structure, which de- pend for stability on the power of the timber to resist cleavage ; for Ihstfehce, m order to expose a piece of wood to a severe tensile Ftrain. it is necessary to cut ofl'a portion of its fibres,to form a heading for the tensile force to actagainst in a position reversed from the end. This heading should have a square inch for each 1000 Ibp. offeree, in order to resist properly the pressure upon the ends of the severed fibres, and it must be at a sufficient distence from the end to prevent the head being split and thrust off. To produce this efl'ect (of splitting,) on sound straight grained pine, requires a force of about 600 lbs. to the square inch of cleavage. Hence I conclude it to be safe to rely on snCh timber under a force of one hundred pounds to the inch, tending to produce cleavage in that manner. Consequently, I always take care that the heading have a distance from the end of the stick, at least equal to ten times the depth of heading. In case, however, of the heading or connexion being made by a hole through the stick near the end, it requires two cleavages to force out the part between the hole and the end, and the hole should be at a distance from the end at least five times as great as the diameter of the hole, and with the bearing on round pins or bolts, which press outward, to some extent, as well as toward the end, it is proper to give an extent beyond the hole, equal to about seven times the diameter of the pin. With these facts as the safe and reliable powers of the material to resist the action of the several kinds of force to which it [may be exposed and 82 A diagram exhibiting the several parts of the bridge tmss proposed to be formed, and the amount of tensile aud thrust action to which each part may be liable in the usage for which it is designed, carefully calcu- lated and marked on the parts respectively, it was easy to proportion the par- ticular parts and pieces of the structure so as to enable all to perform their fanctions with about the same ease, safety and certainty, without lumbering it with useless weight in unimportant parts, serving only to impair its conve- nience as a moveable structure, and exhaust a valuable portion of its sup- porting power which otherwise might answer useful purposes. In the an- nexed diagram I have shewn the arrangement of the parts of the long arm of the truss, forming the span from the turn-table to the abutment across the canal ; and considering this as a simple span of the bridge truss, disconnected with the heel-end of structure, and supposing it to be loaded with 12,000 lbs to each pannel, applied successively at the points a, A, c and d, to be equiva- lent to a load of one net to the running foot on the whole bridge in addition to the weight of the structure, the elementary principles of statistics enable us readily to deduce the kind and amount of action which would thereby re- sult to each part respectively. These actions I have computed and marked in pounds on the lines of the diagram representing the respective parts, (neglect- ing small fractions) prefixing the positive sign to numbers denoting tension, and the negative sign to those denoting thrust or compression in the same, manner as was done previously to the original proportionment of the structure under consideration. These preliminary explanations of the principles and computations presented are correct as I feel well assured they are, and should aid greatly in enabling an intelligent judgment to be formed as to the strength and reliability of the bridge in question, as far as it regards the sup- porting power of the trussea I propose now to refer briefly to the parts of the truss, and point out the reasons whence I infer the sufficiency of each particular part for the labour required of of it, as well as the general safety of, and sufficiency of, the structure as a whole. The bottom chord in the cen- tre 18 marked at a tension of 39,000 lbs for a distributed load of 72,000 lbs in addition to 24,000 lbs assumed weight of structure— or a gross load of 9«,000 pounds to a truss. The cross section is 120 square inches, and allowing one half to be lost at the splicings, we have 60 available inches of unbroken fiflres, capable of sustaining before rupture at least ten times the maximum stress produced by the greatest ordinary loads, and being 50 per cent, more section than is required by the safe estimate of one square inch to each 1000 lbs. The top chords have the same section of 120 square inches, safe at 500 lbs to the mch, or at a thrust of 60,000 lbs— being about ten per cent, more than the great- est thrust marked for the top chord on the diagram, which is 51.000 lbs. The diagonals S B and S C are each marked about 17.000 lbs, and have a cross section available for tension, exceeding 24 square inches ; being about 40 per cent more than safety requires. They have also 17 square inches section of fibres cut by the bolt holes, giving one square inch bearing: of bolt surface on the ends of fibres for each 1000 lbs of pressure, which amount of pressure the wood can bear without danger of crushing. The next diagonal R D has about 16 square inches of cut fibres for bearing, and 26 inches of uncut fibres to sustain 1,2000 lbs of tension upon the piece both in considerable excess. Diagonal P P suffers a tension of 7,345 lbs in one condition of the load, viz : when the point F is full loaded, and the point B unloaded. A thrust of 2,115 lbs with B full loaded and F unloaded, and tension equal to the difference of these numbers, or 4,230 lbs with both points loaded. This piece is single at the upper end, with a section of about 9 inches of cut, and 12 inches of uncut fibres, and tne lower end double, and composed of 2 pieces ^ by 6 inches.— The single upper part lapping between the double lower part, with two one inch bolts and a one inch pin passing through, giving Vd\ square inches of ■ < Iwlt and pin, bewringin the single part of the spHce, with nearly the same at the upper end connection, and more at the lower, being considerably in excess throughout. The diagonal G is double, being composed of two 9\ by 6 in, pieces. At the upper end, where it connects with its opposite C and the upper chord, the two pairs cross and lock with one another, I believe with bote of one-fourth inch diameter, leavrnfr an uncut cross-section for each pair, equal to 12 square inches ; each pair of these diagonnls (O G and C) suffer 4,280 lbs of tension and thrust alternately, according ns either of t'je points G or C, is loaded singly, while with both those points full loaded the tendency of the weight at one point just neutralizes that of the weight at the other point, leaving those diagonals without action, except what is due to the weight of the structure itself. The next diagonal N H composed of 2 pieces. 8J by 6 inches, suflFers 6,345 lbs. thrust, only 162 lb. to the square inch, with D loaded, and N unloaded, a tension of 2,115 lbs with the load reversed, and a thrust of4.280 lbs. with both these points full loaded, with the assumed load of 12,000 lbs. to each. The diagonal M I has a thrust of 8,460 lbs on 80 square inches of cross section, or 213 lbs to the square inch, with bearing surface largely in excess at both ends. Diatronal L I, same sized piecps as the two last mentioned, has a thrust of 260 lbs to the square inch beine an aggregate of 10,125 lbs, with a large excess of bearing surface at the ends m the end posts we have 77 square inches for a thrust of 27 000 lbs or 1 mchto each 350 lbs; and when we consider the free unsuppnrtrd length of these posts, equil to some 31 times the least diameter, although it is fully wimm the limit of safety, there seems to be as small an excess of strensih aoove the safe limit in these posts, as in any part of the whole trusc. if thev ao not actually constitute the weakest part of the whole bridge. I have now alluded to each part of the truss in detail, and shown for the weakest part ot each piece of timber an actual maximum stress under the gr.-atest P« thon .*5u «*7°*1?^1 ^« I'a^le in any legitimate usaire, in all cases nf Lol one-sixth part of the actual breaking stress of that kind of timber or average quality, and in nearly all of the pieces very considerably less. It roiiows then, that if we were to assume a distributed" load six times as great as was assumed above, to wit : six times 96,000 to the truss, equal 576 net tons to the two trusses, or 552 tons over and above the weight of superstruc- tion calculation would show m no single piece of timber (in the trusses) a' stress approaching by a considerable amount the actual breaking stress of inLT^®"f»J fs ^e*«rm^rd by careful and repeated experiment. I therefore conclude that the breaking of the two trusses by a fairly distributed load 550 net tons, acting by dead pressure, could not reasonably be predicted, except ul W"??^/ Ti^l'*y °^ material, considerably inferior to the average qual- T J « • ? ^''^ conclusion be correct, and to me it seems unavoidable, the sufficiency of strength m the trusses is fully established. To break one ofthese 7 by 14 floor beams, by a weight on the track rails, would require 33 net tons, while the legitimate service required of them, before the inser- tion of the extras, was about 5 tons to each beam, or one-si:^th of the breaking weight. This load might produce an objectionable deflection, but not an un- safe or an injurious strain. The bolts sustaining the beams are 14 in. iron, containing over one square inch of cross section, deducting the part cut away in joining the screw thread, are good for 10,000 lbs each, would be injured by twice that amount of fair stress, or broken with less than 50 or 60 thousand pounds. It, instead of the addition of extra beams, the orie-inals had heea replaced py large ones, in the same positions, the effect would have been 1 et- ter, as bringing the weight higher to the supported points of the lower chord, consequently diminishing the transverse stress thereon. From what rro- ceeds, it is abundantly evident to me, that the bridge over the Desjardin m SS^y**Pt*,*'^" ^^ ^ **» •^"P'* pwmiw of tbe tmOo MMhiff «««« U bewiDR fiUfly on (be track wmIb ; and U it my decided opioLi Uom tile wammaUonp I hawe niade, aod tfae facte and appeacaoce I Ijave wiioeemd ■Mice my anrival at the bridge on the 20th instant^ that the unmediate cause of the disanter on the 12th iostant, was the violent collieion of uorae part or R^/**?ir®J**^°°****^^* attached to the ill-fated train with the timbers of the ^Tatea bndge, either directlj or throuBh the medium ot some interpoaed "(Signed) g. Wmxnm." mk(3»AM. 8 R Q P O N M L K XXXXXXXX ABCDEFGH I To Mr. IW«liarda--I did not estimate the breaking wefrfjiof the bridco. If 670 tone were distributed over the bridge, I would not say that it would not beai it. The bridge, according to the estimate, would sustain 560 tons. lot 1 do no* thhik that the bridge would sustain that weight. My opinion is ttat the bridge would sustain a weight of between 400 and 600 tons. If the bridge were built according to the plan, it might sustain a weight of 670 ■^^^*' *' *^® computation were right. What I mean is, that if 670 tons were distributed, it would not produce a break in any part of the bridge. The bridge, if the material were good, would sustain a weight of 570 tons. To a Juror — ^The structure, previous to the accident, would sustain ft weight of 400 tons. To Mr. Ricbards.— I am not aware of any bridge built on the principle of tte De^ardm bridge, except that over the Welland canal ; they are the only two in existence tiiat I am aware of. i -v j K-j;i ^** ^^ Coroners.--I consider the timbers that I have seen of the broken bridge to have been of tnll mediamquality when they were firet put in 3 years ^go; boA of inferior quftUty now. Timber could hardly last so long in such Wew ftod tear without deteriorating. I think thai such timbers would reauire good attention after four or five years, owing to the action of the weather on them. To Mr. BJehardB.— The bearing power of every 20 feet of the bridge, woald be soraethmg over 100 tons. It would take a weigh* of 600 tons to ^xv, 1? 5^*^** ** ^* *®^ distance from the land. In the old bridge I do not think there were any beams broken within the 24 first beams. I oannot ac- connt for the breaking of the bridge. To Mr. G^ne.— The greatest weight that could be oo the bridge at a u w »?o«t72 *«M» Jn the or^nary trafflc. The obiect of my report is to show that the bridge could not have been broken hy a dead weight. To a Juror.— The bridge would give mdications of decay before it Decame dangerous. Owing to the absenoe of experience, I oannot say poatively, but I think it would give indications of decay in six years. To another Jurcwr.— I have known an instance of a similar bridge giving way after five years at the joints, but it wjw not so well protected by paint as the IXegardm canal bridge. To Mr. Richards.— I saw some rather cross grained timber in the old brtdge, but I did not see any decayed timber. Tofte Coroner. — The breaking of the needle beams m February would produce an effiact aeeording as the beams were broken. If the chords were n»terially iiynred, it would be peroeptible. It is poeelble that sooh inpriea VMldjiuit b» visible ; tt is not probatole Iwwefver. ^ M. rfifflnmi Ssinv (awam) miOr^l un 9aiMriii«eadeiit tif thatte fiMmtMrik «T AniieauB rmiam ; haw had nothing to do with btid«» BirrtoMtothte «« ; went op to the bridge t the dn^of the FeSZ^ZS^T^^ »oae daaage might arise, and I examined the whole of it, although & iSi Sot my duty to do go ; did not detect any bad Umber : the timber takenlt ih« On thTn^^K^ n?'"« tmlbel^-«uch'«« is generalW uted t^Bu^t^tpmS, 2 I'n^K T ^'^"^^ .^ abrasion near the switch. I had no doubtluthattiil ^i lif^tf ^^^""^ ^^^ **^^'^«°' 5 my opinion was that there was a wheel off th« ^^•,^«^P»«'' ^as of the same opinion ; first thought it was thelft hS whe« ° tnM S'T^*''''?'.^' afterwards'l thought* it was the righ bISd tT« trii .^„^'- ^yr spending ^eeU Tu'eX' "" «*^«^i"**i^^' <^« I^q'iest a<«oun«Ki till hSlf^pSt Eleventh Day,— Tuesday, March 81. ^^ The Jury met at half-past three o'clock. The first witness eumdned, r^r^^.^^^l^^ Jbnkins, who deposed— I am foreman of the lecomotive de. partment at Toronto; am placed there to see that engines, before theviro out, are in proper working order. I examined the en^e "Oxford" on tto afternoon of the I2th of March. It appeared to me to bein properwoTki^ order. We eiamme all the working parts of engines befoM tiiw leave T? ronto ; they are examined every time they oome in ; tiiink timt enirinelhM* been on the Toronto branch for 12 months ; she had been on tiie main Um shorttime before the accident ; she had only run 147 miles since beinir «^ paired ; tiie accident was on the second day after she again commenced run- „* ti^^M?**' FoEftYTH deposed— I am general foreman of tiie locomotive shoo at I^lton ; the "Oxford" was brought in for repairs to tiie shop hew2 (Books were here produced which stated the condition of the engine when ^^ t/''*^ ^^'L'^^P-. ?^^ P^l^* ^«*«^ repairing-botii pistons SulmS —and the eccentric rod, dnving and taraUing wheels, guage taps— tires— &c required attention.) Bumfleld made that ^rt ; lITright-^^d dS^Sl wheel tare burst, and then the engineer made tiie report!^ to the aeS n«wJil-!r"*^*'°®.' ^^^tof the repairs spoken of were material, but tiie 2ill!^-^^°^V^^'*»''«^* ^^^ ^op, is that tiie wheel tiro wtM S^^li.^'JTl*?!*^*'^^"®^ that damage ; she was in th« shop ttam Jto. aoth'to March 6th. (Books were h«re pwduoed, whloh iih^wM ^ I 86 all these repairs had been executed, as well as sereral others.) I examined the engine personally before she l«ft the shop ; she was in excellent, sound, working order ; had to examine a wheel of the "Oxford's" tender— the right himd leading wheel— examined the wheels of the locomotive at the same time, but saw nothing wrong— no flaw or anything else ; the engine ran four trips to Copetown ; she toolt the express train to London and back ; she ran four times to Toronto and back, making in all 847 miles from the time she left the shop to the time she met with the accident ; we are very frequently called upon to make such repairs as we did to the "Oxford." She was an American engine ; don't think American engines require repairing more tre- quontly than English ones ; after having hud such a first-class repair, the engine would not come in again for nine months, except for slight matters, Buch as tightening up piston rods, &c. To Mr. Ricliards- We examined the axles, and looked to see in what condition the brasses were. The engine, so repaired, is as good 8 a new for all practical purposes. To a Juror— The "Oxford " was a good engine— able to perform any fair work. To another Juror — There may have been a flaw in the axle ; there may be flaws so minute as to escape observation ; don't think there was a flaw in the axle when I looked at it ; think it was flawed before it broke ; should Bay decidedly it was flawed before the accident. To Another Juror — The fractured part is not rusted at the edges, per- haps because the oil preserved it. To another Juror— The tests we apply to indicate the soundness of the axles, are the eye and the hammer. If we fancy there is any defect, we put the axle in the fire, that causes the flaw to shew. If there were a flaw inside an axle, it would not show outside. To the Coroners — If there was a flaw inside, the hammer would not cause its detection ; have seen flaws commenced on the inside of axles, but very rarely. To a Juror— I don't imagine the continued friction would make the iron harder. To Mr. Richards— The "Oxford" was in the shop on the 17th of Febru- ary, 1856 ; then she had a new set of tyres on the driving and trailing wheels. To a Juror— I think this is the first truck axle that has broken on the road ; engines are examined after every trip ; we see that the wheels are right and true to the guage. To the Coroners — The axles which were in the "Oxford" have run for the last 12 months ; can't say how long before ; my book only extends back to February 1st, 1856 ; when we remove the wheels, we remove the axles as well — but the same axles may do for new wheels. At.ex. Braid testified — I am tha locomotive superintendent of the Great "Western Railway works, at Hamilton. I have only been therefor 6 months, but I was superintendent before that in England ; have been fifteen years on railways — 6 years engaged in the manufacture of locomotives ; the repairs to the '-Oxford" were wel and substantially executed; can corroborate Mr. Forsyth's statement. Wy opinion as to the cause of the accident is, that the axle broke before coming to the switch. On passing the switch the left band wheel worked inward, and marked the ties ; when about entering the bridge, the whole of the engine ran off the rails, fell on them, and, swaying to the right, the bufi^r beam cut away the diagonals and so went to the bottom ; it is possible for the fto^i wheels of the truck to be off the track, the hind whe«la ■ renjBining on ; it Ib hardly possible for the whole of the track whe«ls to be Off the track, and the driving and trailing wheel* to be on, (DiagraniB of engine truckn. Ac., were here produced.) I think the tranflvenie Bt'y of the truck of the engine fell on the rails and slid along them ; think there are in- duations on the ash-pan that it slid along the rails, and thus, by keepinir the engine from falling very far, prevented the wheels from cutting deep into the ties ; was at the scene of theaccidont at ai)out 5 minutes to 6 the same even- ing ; went to examine the marks on the rails, ties, &c., not more than half an hour afterwards ; saw wheel marks alwut four rods beyond the switch— be- tween the rails ; the wheel did not mount the rails again until It had oassed between the switch rails, and bent one of them ; it shortly fell, and thence to the bridge, was so distinct that there was no mistaking it ; had no idea at the time, that the mark was made by the truck wheel ; thought it might have been caused by that of the tender ; all the tie rods were marked : observed but one broken ; have examined the broken axle ; there is an appearance of a previous fracture, almost all the way round, about three eighths of an inch • there is no means of ascertaining how old the fracture may have been • It mav have been broken a few minutes, or perhaps a day ; it would have been very difficult for the inspector at Toronto to have detected it, because of its nosi- tion. *^ u . '^.^ Mr. Richards— The forward truck wheels could not be far off without bringing off the others ; the flange could be off further than the breadth of the rail-about 6 inches ; if it were 10 inches off, it would certainly cause the others to come off. '' To a Juror.— There were a good many people around when I examined the truck ; the marks, however, weie not obliterated. To Mr Richards.— I cannot say how it is that I did not see marks made by the truck wheels on the right hand side, outside the track ; the Iron which forms the fire-box 18 not yerv strong, but it has a strong frame : If a ton weight were laid upon it, in front, it would bear It la ; think about 16 tons must rest upon the driving and trailing wheels ; the ash pan alone would not prevent the wheels from striking the ties ; the rails would have marked the rivets of the ash pan ; it is possible that the indentation on the ashoan mav have been done m the fall of the engine. »aupi.u may C. J. Brydoes (Managing Director of the Line).— No complaint has ever been made to me concerning any alledged defect in the strength of the bridge. Some time ago, an accident took place on the Gait branch, and I mmediately gave orders to the engineer to examine all the bridges on the line, and If anything was necessary, to have it done. That is why the Des- jardm bridge had additional needle beams p.-, in it. The switch was placed near the bridge, because the engineer thought It advisable that the trains to Toronto should use as small a part as possible of the main line. I am not at all prepared to say that the position to which the .witch has been removed further from the bridge, is at all less dangerous, because collisions may oc- cur between trains approaching from the two branches at one time- on curves and in cuttings— so that the engineer of one cannot see the other. The onlv objection I saw to the switch being so near the bridge, was a danger that the tram migh run oft the rail there, and go into the canal. However, trains do no generally run many feet after going off the track. I recollect Mn Sharpe's telling me that the axle would probably be found to be broken. Mr McAlpine is the engineer of the Eastern section of the line. Has been for nine or ten months. He has been in the Company'fj uev^\on for fh "-" ' consider him a competent man. - -■ «. jr««... x To Mr. Richards— I have heard no complaint of the switch. Mr. Street made no complaint about it to me. The Directors in this country hava the 3ft pow* to build brtdgea whenever they pleMe. Ithfts been the inieottm laoe The Directors would make it a double track bridge, and have an ind©^ pendent track for the main line, and also tor the Toronto branch. That woold' be done if the Directors had the power, to make a fixed bridge Aill bridges would be dangerous if a train would run off the track on tbem* The reason why the law about trains stopping before bridges wms repealed as it concerns the De^ardin bridge is, that the grade there is so heavy, that heaw trains cannotstart after stopping there. Trains have been obliged to come back to Hamilton and take a new start. Besides, when the navigation is closed, and the bridge spiked down, it is to all intents and purposes a fix^d bridge, and there can be no reason why it should not be regarded aa such. There was a difliculty both with passenger trains and freight To another Juror.— If the axle had broken at the switch, and the 8Wx.cn had been where it is now, possibly the engineer might have dieooyered it but the axle might break at any part of the line. The only reason why it should break at the bridge is en account of the curve, just before it. To Mr. Richard8.-If the right hand wheel had been off' the track the presumptioL. is that I might have seen the marks on the track. I did not see such marks. To Mr. Gwyune.— The Schenectady locomotive works, where the Oxford was made, are considered to be among the best in the United States. I have caused a number of them to be ordered, so high an opinion of them do I entertain. The foremen, &c., in our works are the best that we can iret for money. ** On the question of adjournment, which was now moved, as all the evi- dence, except that of the engineer's, had been taken, Mr. Richards said he had no desire to delay the Jury ; but it was desirable that the broken wheel, and a portion of a rail which were in the canal, should be recovered, pre- vious to receiving the evidence of engineers. After considerable discussion, the Inquest was then adjourned to Friday afternoon, with the understandinir that, were it possible, they should be specially summoned at an earlier day. Twelfth Dai/,— Friday, Apra 3. The Jury met at three o'clock, p. m. The first witness exairiined was John L. McAlpine— I am an engineer in the employ of the Great Western Railway ; was at the scene of the disaster immediately after the accident occurred. I have examined the bridge, and drawn up a report. The report was then read, as follows :— "Having made a careful examination of the Desjardin Canal swinit bridge, as constructed previous to the recent calamitous aooident of th* I2th uit 1 am enabled to give the tbllowing results as deduced fh>m caloulationi made of the various strengths of the parts composing the structure. "I find the avaUable cross section of the lower ehordi 12aAitt«r« ibotiii; I •9 Sfj#J?*i^-^^* '^*'^^ ®' ^^«h ia 840,000 lbs. The greatest Btrain to Whwh the bridge Qouia be objected, is that due to its own wei^t She? eoual roV?-SS'n7".n ? '""1?^' ^^^°^ ^ distributed load of abZt 10o3 ^r SdX^;,;^bt4^lr^'^^^^^^ orV^rr ' ''' ^^^^"^^^^ ^^^^-^^^ ^^ ^^^^ lower^Wd?'w°^*^^''PP/' chordB is equal in intensity to that on the tT. tZ, «^'k S'* '^-'"''^ v^ compression or thrust, while the other is ten. Jhn«L 4^*1^^^^*" ^°r'?K *^' "PP®' «^°^^» ^^ ^« ««»« i« cross-section M S^^StSt & '"'^"' "^ *^^ ^'*'^*" ^*'''*^ ^ *« ^^y ^ «*^««" «^«,«!?i^ ^ ^'*°®® ®**^ contain 42 square inches of cposs-section : those es of IStK^ir'^*^"" '^' ^*^^^«* taxed,they hare each 25 squ^ri S .^nSl «^' to resist tensile strain, and 17 square inches for bolt t^fLv^l-^^!!^*^?^*^,''^*'''® P*'^^« ^^1 ^ 246,000 lbs., or 109 tons,^ their ultimate strength to load, being as 7 to 1 nearly. w *« ^**® smaller braces in pairs, each one 6 x34 inches, are in strength near- fWrm? proportion to the tie braces, and are consequently capable of por- t^ IS^fn"" ? "'''^•T.t^ ^'"^''''* ^*:^''''^- ^"^•'^^ *he tie braces, the naturVof .2L 1? ^ ^^^^'^ *^®y ^.'^ subjected is variable, they being either in a state of compression or tension according to the position of the load. ih^JlIh '^^^ted strength of the floor beams is 650 tons, the greatest weight tfiey had to bear 76 tons ; ultimate strength to load being as 8 seven-tenths "Finding in all the othw parts of the structure ample capacity for the ff-eatest sterna to which they could have been liable, and making reasonable JJlowanoe fwr imperfeotions both in materials and workmanship, I am led to tbe^ooncluiion ijatthe ultimate strength of the bridge for a distributed load could not have been less than 375 tons, or in the ratio of ultimate strength to greatest load as 8f to 1. owcugi^ (Sflffned,) "John L. MoAiPurai, HAMXWOir, April 3, 1867. ^'^"''''' ^'^'^ ^^''''''" Examination resumed : It was about a quarter to 8 o'clock when I examined the marks on the !«!;«JvliS;**^ appeared to me to have uean made by the truck wheel of the engine ; believes the engine to have been off the track. The bridge has been under my supermtendence for 10 months. During this time I have never beard any complaint from any source, in reference to the insufficiency of the bridge ; always considered it safe. When the accident occurred in Februarv lasU made a thorough examination of the bridge, and ordered the repairs to be made. None (rf the longitudinal timbers were then broken; thiend timber towards the lake was broken ; it was struck by a freight car .!»« , ^^1 f ^^® °^* imred in the least degree. There were 17 ad- diiaonal needle beams put m in February, and 12 in July. To a Juror— Does not think the present bridge stronger than the old structure. An iron swing bridge would be more durable, but does not think It would be any stronger. , _ 7^SZ^^^^~^ *^<^ o^ *hree inch planks were laid on the bridge on a luvui -.Vita cae^-rau, it wouid not render the bridge safer. In that case should a locomotive run off the track, it would break the lattice work, and go Qveir. '^ To Mf, Biohardsr^aw the marks inside the rails, they were perfectly iO f!r«8h ; searched for marks outside the rails, but did not discorer any ; there were some marks inside the rails which were made in February ; saw some marks which he could not account for. Geo. Lowe Reid, (sworn) — Was Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway ; I was at the scene of the accident at 10 o'clock on that evening ; made an examination of the bridge on the following day, and have drawn up * report. [The report was then read.] Examination resumed — T saw the marks on the ties ; they were newly- made ; the marks are correctly represented on the plan drawn up by Mr. Mc- Alpine ; looked for marks on the west side of the rail, outside, but did not perceive any. To Mr. Richards— I saw other marks on the ties which were made on a previous occasion ; think the whole of the locomotive was oflF the track before it got on to the bridge ; marks may have been made outside the rail. The rail that was taken out of the water had an abrasion on its sur- face as if there had been a eliding motion of the wheel. The momentum of the train would affect the action of the bridge. If the train was going at 20 miles per hour, it would be much more likely to break the bridge than at 6 miles. The marks were made in a horozontal direction. I think the loco- motive was riding on the chords of the bridge. ^ To a Juror— There are degrees of safety in different bridges, but sup- posing a locomotive off the track, they are all on a par. Frederick Pre<-ton Rubridge, sworn. — Am a civil engineer ; have been connected with Public Works for the last 15 years ; was instructed by the Assistant Commissioner of Public Works to examine the track and remains of the bridge, and report to the Government ; have drawn up a statement, which has been presented to the Public Works Department at Toronto — a copy of which is herewith produced. The report was then read, which occupied a great length of time in reading, and concluded by reporting the bridge to have b^en in an unsound, unsafe and dangerous condition, on and before the 12th of March, 1857. To the Coroner. — Had the weight ot the engine (34 tons) been equally distributed over the needle beams, they would probably have sustained the en- gine if off the track, but the lower chords would have given way. The lower chords were weaker in proportion than the needle beams. If the needle beams were each equal to a breaking weight of 34 tons, ii would of course take great concussion to break them. On account of the wear and tear, and the insuffi- ciency of the lower chords, I should think the present bridge would be unsafe twelve months hence. At present it may be safe; I should have no hesitation in crossing over it now. The lower chords are much weakened by' the bolts which pass through ihem. To a Juror — I do not approve of the principle of the swing bridge. Sup- posing the engine to have been proceeding at the rate of from 5 to 6 miles an hour, I could estimate the force of the blow to be 70 tons. Had the chords been strong enough, thinks that the bridge might have sustained a lo comotive if it fell nine inches ; thinks that the span is unnecessarily wide ; a swing bridge might be built there and would, no doubt, be suflSciently strong. There were two weak po'nts in the bridge, which it U natural to suppose were the first to give. Does not think the engine broke the lattice work in the first place. The marks on the bridge do not justify that theory. Thinks the engine was 24 or 2G feet on the bridge before it went off the track. In descending, the engine might have struck against the lattice work, or perhaps the tender. Does not believe thejfront'of 'the^buffer beam struck the lattice work where the red mark appears. In falling, it is probable thBt|the engine f " 4» wooid BtvMce ■onwpordoa of e wood-work of the htldg9, aiid gat](]^ iobm sjchpartiGks of paint or wood as is aaid to hare been found on and vSSS the nnt on the buflfer beam. ^^ Ofkcjb of Pdblio Wosjcs, Toronto, March 26, 1867, T. A. Bb«ly, Esq., Secretary. Sir,-— I have the honor to present to thft Oommiwltmers df Pn'blld Wdi'MB the result of mjinvestigation, pursuant to instructions from the tfonoraWe Assistant Oommiffloner, to visit the locality of the recent sad aeddenl and report upon the foots which there present themselves, with fefferen two of su^ being connected together by transverse bolts on each side, theselKStsliiuch^ach in diameter, reduce the section (not to mention the flcarfs) to * b«am 7i inches in depth by 10 inclies broad, and nme feet in kngth J which, foe the two chords, one on each side of the bridge, under an uSfprm Ipad, would l^reak with a weight of 45 tons, or 22 tons for each singly. iJtieavty lopomptive of 36 tons would press upon or occupy two of these por- tiona of platform, or eignteen feet in length, and as it is Shewn that it would Mfluiw »8 tons to break this extent, taking one third of the latter as the safe nSoUcal strength, this, therefore, would be a severe test inasmuch a* 37 S^QQe^ iU, for CQWtftut and daily use. For a 28 ton engine, Which I hare MMim^ci tbe Oxfora to have been, the weight would just fall within the limit pf