On September 25, 1882, Dr. Fleming submitted a bill to City Council for $154, “for attendance on the Niblock lad, run over on the railway track”.  Thus with only a year having passed since the first train, “Young Niblock” became the first person in Brandon to be injured by a train.  P172 Kananagh

Trains can be dangerous machines. Mishaps, derailments and collisions are always a threat. Injuries are a way of life for railroaders.

Given the enormous numbers of trains in motion this is to be expected, but it is truly alarming to note that in 1899 in the US alone 1, 958 railway employees were killed in mishaps. 221 passengers killed in accidents as well.

Railroading was a dangerous job.

And for the public, especially children, curiosity of trains and lack of experience lead to a few tragedies.

Brandon’s worst railway disaster happened in on Jan.13, 1916. It was bitterly cold day and a group of temporary workers were taking a break in the shelter of a caboose car of a snow clearing train. As the snow train backed into the main line, preparing to shift to a new location, another train hauling cattle slammed into it.

Of the thirty workers taking shelter in the caboose, 17 were killed instantly and one of the injured died afterwards.

Aside from the snow train #39’s crew and a supervisor, the men working on it were

Galacians (from modern day Ukraine). They were desperate for work, and took the job despite the cold and potential danger.

A coroner’s jury blamed the railway for negligence but both crews claimed they had the right of way.

Railway authorities gave generous assistance to the families involved and this and other incidents helped raise awareness and prompt calls for better safety.

It was nearly 23 years before another major accident occured. In the early morning hours of August 28, 1939 three freight cars came loose by the Mcabe elevator on 13th & slowly began to build up speed going downhill toward the old cigar factory which was then the Codville warehouse on 11th. Building up speed, it jumped the stops and crashed into the building entrance. Luckily there were no injuries but had it occured later, during business hours there most certainly would have been injuries if not deaths.

There were many more injuries than deaths, and many not officially recorded. There are stories of railway men loosing limbs to mishaps by cjumping on the moving trains something they commonly did. It was just part of their job.

When injuries did occur it was common of the brotherhood of railroaders to offer assistance to the injured railroader family. At a time when there was no medicare or welfare, this kept a railwayman’s family in good care until they recovered.

The "company" also tended o show loyalty to railmen as well.  Once a victim was recovered and capable he was welcomed back to the yard in an appropriate capacity. 

There many tasks available in the yard, such as switching or being in the switch tower.

While we may wince when reminded that the switch tower was was nicknamed the "cripple house" the intentions were good – the men were still employed - still had opportunity  to feed their families.

Of course there were also incidents involving other modes of transportation.

Richard Ramsden, his two sons and Charles Webster were killed by a speeding train at the 6th street level crossing in 1900. A coroner’s jury recommended that an overhead crossing replace both the 6th street and 13th street crossings. The CPR negotiated a $2500 settlement with Mrs. Ramsden.

This incident and others likely prompted the CPR to finance a new crossing at 8th Street in 1904.

Given Brandon’s the hundreds of passing trains it’s rather amazing to see how few accidents there were

In those busy years hundreds of people were on and near the tracks during "train time".  Brandon was far more fortunate than many cities its size.