RCHA Soldiers Killed in Train Wreck at Canoe River in 1950

A communication trouble was blamed for the appalling crash. After 40 minutes of deliberation, the
jury acquitted John Atherton. "Prosecutors stated Atherton omitted the words "at Cedarside" from 1
sentence." Such omission would have misled the troop train engineer as to the place of the
Transcontinental train.
The disastrous accident triggered the deaths of 17 soldiers, the two train engineers and two train
firemen. Diefenbaker focussed on the weak wooden automobiles in which the soldiers have been
sitting and comparing the extreme harm to the fairly safer steel automobiles. Seconds later, two
train engines hit, head-on.

The trial began on Could 10, 1951 in Prince

George, BC with a 12-member jury and Justice
A.D. The 22-year-old Canadian National Railway
telegraph operator John Atherton was arrested
and attempted for manslaughter in the dead of the
CNR fireman aboard the train. (The occasion was
held early to avoid winter conditions.) Residents of
the area, veterans, cadets, train passengers and
crash survivors attended the event. Loaded aboard
the relief train, the survivors and the casualties were taken to Edmonton, Alberta. The steel
automobiles had been fine, but the old wooden cars had been crushed." Steam from hot water pipes
formed a cloud in the frosty air over the web-site, the hot steam severely scalding quite a few men.
McFarlane listening to the testimony. "The case against Atherton hinged on a message sent to the
telegraph operator that he then relayed to the conductor of a train complete of Korea-bound
soldiers," stated CBC Digital Archives. "Following spending some time in Edmonton and Wainwright,
they [the soldiers] returned on a train to the coast," said The Rocky Mountain Goat in "Canoe River
Crash Memorial."
60th Anniversary Memorial of Canoe River Crash
"1 RCHA - Canoe River," Canadian Armed Forces Accessed November 15, 2010
The loggers have been not waving greetings to the engineer they have been trying to warn the
trainman of the impending disaster they saw ahead. John Diefenbaker spent various weeks finding
out about telegraph procedures ahead of heading into court.
A physician rushed from the Transcontinental train to help the injured soldiers, and various other
travellers offered nursing care. "Twelve soldiers had been killed outright - like 4 whose bodies were
under no circumstances recovered," mentioned 1 RCHA, adding "four a lot more died aboard the
relief train just after leaving Canoe River, and one died in hospital 18 days just after the accident."
"Diefenbaker for the Defence," CBC Digital Archives Accessed November 15, 2010
The engineers could not see what lay ahead on the mid-morning of November 21, 1950. The method
of message transmission had also been declared a challenge in the preliminary hearing by

Diefenbaker. As if the scenario was not dreadful adequate, an oil fire began, hindering rescue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zypHStVawdo and recovery.
Lawyer John Diefenbaker for the Defence
Troop and Transcontinental Trains in Head-on Collision
"Canoe River Train Memorial," The Rocky Mountain Goat Accessed November 15, 2010
The sacrifice produced by the 1 RCHA gunners was recognized at Valemount, BC on September ten
to 12, 2010 on the 60th anniversary of the train crash. Engineers and firemen of each trains
perished. Returning waves to loggers at the side, the CNR Transcontinental train engineer forged
ahead. The injured and other individuals in http://www.koreatimesus.com/tag/car-crash/ the crash
have been pretty cold - there was six inches of snow on the ground and a lot more falling, and with
both engines broken, there was no heat in any of the remaining train cars.
"Canoe River Train Wreck," Roots: Valemount &amp Location Museum, Virtual Museum Accessed
November 15, 2010
Changes were produced to the rail line at the Canoe River scene, such as the removal of the blind
corner to protect against any additional horrific accidents at that point. The Transcontinental
passenger train was bound for Montreal from Vancouver. "The crash brought down all
communication lines so there was no way of radioing for aid," stated the Virtual Museum. "The
engine of the troop train shot into the air and came down onto the second coach, crushing it onto the
tracks," mentioned Virtual Museum's entry on the "Canoe River Train Wreck." "The initial vehicle
telescoped and landed on leading of the front section of the third coach. Diefenbaker was
constructive the telegraph operator was innocent and being employed as a "scapegoat," mentioned
CBC Digital Archives. (He was not tried for the deaths of the soldiers or the three other civilian
guys.)
The Transcontinental train and passengers were pulled back to Kamloops, BC. Lawyer John
Diefenbaker went on to turn into the Prime Minister of Canada from 1957 to 1963.
Sources:. The west-bound troop train carrying about 340 military males - gunners of the 2nd
Regiment of the 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - was enroute from Shilo, Manitoba heading for
battle in the Korean conflict. Telegraph operator Bill Fischer rigged an emergency telephone and
produced a call to his headquarters in Jasper, added Virtual Museum. There had been several
possibilities for blanking out the message need to there be a lot of snow or something else (like
verified occasion of a bird putting a dead fish on the wire, said Virtual Museum). The occasion
remembered the 17 soldiers lost, the men listed on Veterans Affairs Canada:
"The Canoe River Train Accident," Veterans Affairs Canada Accessed November 15, 2010
Seventeen Soldiers, Four Trainmen Dead in Crash
Communication Lines at Canoe River Down
Gunner Arden Joseph Atchison
Gunner Weldon Eugene Barkhouse

Gunner Norman William Carroll

Gunner Frederick William Conway
Gunner Robert Arthur Craig
Gunner Austin Emery George
Gunner Urbain Joseph Levesque
Gunner Robert William Manley
Gunner Basil Patrick McKeown
Gunner Albert William Orr
Gunner David Owens
Gunner Leslie Albert Snow
Gunner Albert George Stroud
Gunner Joseph Thistle
Bombardier James Milo Wenkert
Gunner James Joseph White
Gunner William David Wright
On the guidance of his ailing wife Edna, defence lawyer and Saskatchewan MP John Diefenbaker
took on the young Atherton's case. The train tracks curved into a blind corner, and each and every
train engineer was confident that the rail ahead was clear. The Transcontinental had many cars
knocked off the tracks and the engine was damaged beyond repair, but the passengers survived.
The military train fared a great deal worse. Suffering with leukemia, she died prior to the
preliminary trial started. Three hours later, a hospital train arrived from Jasper and a relief train
arrived from Kamloops. The trains collided in a devastating crash at Canoe River, close to
Valemount, BC. Mrs