Dugald train disaster

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The Dugald train disaster was a railway accident that took place on September 1, 1947 in Dugald, Manitoba, Canada, claiming the lives of 31 people.^[1]

A westbound train, the second section of a seasonal excursion service carrying vacationers from the Minaki region of Northwestern Ontario, approached Dugald at 9:44pm being almost an hour and a half behind schedule. Contrary to orders, the train failed to switch itself into the siding just before the station, which resulted in a head-on collision with the eastbound Supercontinental.

After the collision, the wooden carriages of the vacation train caught fire. Strict rationing of steel during World War II had led to the old wooden cars, which were lit by gas lamps, being kept in service until newer cars could be purchased. The collision set off a chain reaction that led to fires that gutted the wooden cars and set light to oil tanks near the tracks. With the exception of the crew, who were largely killed in the initial collision, fatalities in this incident were caused by the fire. No fatalities occurred in the vacation train's two rear cars, which were made of steel, or on the Supercontinental.

An inquiry placed the blame on the crew of the vacationers' train for failing to follow orders. The inquiry also determined that the crew's error had been precipitated by their seeing a clear signal, which implied that the track ahead was clear, and that the Supercontinental's dimming of its headlamp while waiting in the station lessened its visibility to the oncoming vacation train. This led to both the acquisition of modern rail cars and the improvement of rules regarding operations on the line.