The Minaki Train Crash

the Minaki Special, an outdated passenger train comprised of wooden cars, was kept in service when it should have been pulled from the tracks years before. Returning from an Ontario vacation resort, the Minaki had the misfortune of travelling on the same tracks as the all-steel Transcontinental on September 1, 1947. While the inevitable collision is a mere jostle for the larger train, the crash melds the two engines together and ignites gas oil lamps throughout the Minaki's wooden cars. Over 30 perish in the resulting fire.