Brandon Sun, January 12, 1916
January 12, 1916 was a bitterly cold morning in Brandon, Manitoba. Nonetheless, dozens of men, all poor, recent "Galacian" immigrants, were deployed to clear snow from the tracks of the CPR Yards in the heart of the city.
A couple of dozen of them had piled into a caboose to keep warm as the work train crawled to the next section of track when they were hit by a cargo train bound for Winnipeg. The caboose was obliterated and 19 men were killed.
The crash was the worst in Manitoba's history until the Dugald Train Disaster of 1947.
When the story faded from the headlines, the men were forgotten about. There are no commemorative plaques or gardens. Even in the Brandon Cemetery, where most of them are buried in a single row, only a handful of them have headstones.
On this, the centenary of Manitoba's second worst train disaster and the deadliest day in Brandon's history, take time to remember them.
You can read more about the disaster and the men at:
http://westenddumplings.blogspot.ca/2013/07/manitobas-worst-train-disasters-brandon.html
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/deadly-day--in-brandon-318559491.html
http://www.brandonsun.com/local/family-historian-worry-19-victims-on-1916-rail-disaster-forgotten-364838211.html
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