RCHA Soldiers Killed in Train Wreck at Canoe River in 1950

The west-bound troop train carrying about 340 military guys - gunners of the 2nd Regiment of the 1
Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - was enroute from Shilo, Manitoba heading for battle in the Korean
conflict. (He was not tried for the deaths of the soldiers or the 3 other civilian guys.)
"1 RCHA - Canoe River," Canadian Armed Forces Accessed November 15, 2010
On the tips of his ailing wife Edna, defence lawyer and Saskatchewan MP John Diefenbaker took on
the young Atherton's case. "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,"
mentioned CBC Digital Archives. As if the predicament was not dreadful enough, an oil fire began,
hindering rescue and recovery.
Communication Lines at Canoe River Down
"Canoe River Train Wreck," Roots: Valemount &amp Location Museum, Virtual Museum Accessed
November 15, 2010
60th Anniversary Memorial of Canoe River Crash
A medical professional rushed from the Transcontinental train to help the injured soldiers, and quite
a few other travellers offered nursing care. The injured and other folks in the crash were extremely
cold - there was six inches of snow on the ground and much more falling, and with each engines
broken, there was no heat in any of the remaining train vehicles.
The disastrous accident brought on the deaths of 17 soldiers, the two train engineers and two train
firemen. The Transcontinental passenger train was bound for Montreal from Vancouver. "Twelve
soldiers have been killed outright - such as 4 whose bodies were by no means recovered," mentioned
1 RCHA, adding "four much more died aboard the relief train soon after leaving Canoe River, and 1
died in hospital 18 days following the accident."
Seventeen Soldiers, 4 Trainmen Dead in Crash
"Canoe River Train Memorial," The Rocky Mountain Goat Accessed November 15, 2010
"The Canoe River Train Accident," Veterans Affairs Canada Accessed November 15, 2010
The loggers were not waving greetings to the engineer they have been attempting to warn the
trainman of the impending disaster they saw ahead. Diefenbaker was constructive the telegraph
operator was innocent and getting made use of as a "scapegoat," mentioned CBC Digital Archives. 3
hours later, a hospital train arrived from Jasper and a relief train arrived from Kamloops. The
strategy of message transmission had also been declared a challenge in the preliminary hearing by
Diefenbaker. "The engine of the troop train shot into the air and came down onto the second coach,
crushing it onto the tracks," said Virtual Museum's entry on the "Canoe River Train Wreck." "The
initial auto telescoped and landed on best of the front section of the third coach. The trains collided
in a devastating crash at Canoe River, close to Valemount, BC. The 22-year-old Canadian National
Railway telegraph operator John Atherton was arrested and tried for manslaughter in the dead of the
CNR fireman aboard the train. (The event was held early to stay clear of winter situations.)

Residents of the location, veterans, cadets, train passengers and crash survivors attended the event.
Diefenbaker focussed on the weak wooden vehicles in which the soldiers have been sitting and
comparing the serious damage to the somewhat safer steel automobiles. John Diefenbaker spent
several weeks learning about telegraph procedures before heading into court.
The military train fared considerably worse. The Transcontinental had several automobiles knocked
off the tracks and the engine was damaged beyond repair, but the passengers survived.. The event
remembered the 17 soldiers lost, the males listed on Veterans Affairs Canada:
The engineers could not see what lay ahead on the mid-morning of November 21, 1950. Loaded
aboard the relief train, the survivors and the casualties were taken to Edmonton, Alberta. The train
tracks curved into a blind corner, and every single train engineer was confident that the rail ahead
was clear. After 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury acquitted John Atherton. Returning waves to
loggers at the side, the CNR Transcontinental
http://www.koreabeat.com/2007/08/04/car-crash-question/ train engineer forged ahead. Mrs. The
steel vehicles had been fine, but the old wooden vehicles have been crushed." Steam from hot water
pipes formed a cloud in the frosty air over the web page, the hot steam severely scalding a lot of
males. Suffering with leukemia, she died ahead of the preliminary trial began. Engineers and
firemen of both trains perished. There had been quite a few possibilities for blanking out the
message must there be a lot of snow or one thing else (like confirmed occasion of a bird placing a
dead fish on the wire, said Virtual Museum). Telegraph operator Bill Fischer rigged an emergency
phone and made a contact to his headquarters in Jasper, added Virtual Museum. Lawyer John
Diefenbaker went on to become the Prime Minister of Canada from 1957 to 1963.
Sources:
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
The Transcontinental train and passengers had been pulled back to Kamloops, BC. McFarlane
listening to the testimony. "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."
Troop and Transcontinental Trains in Head-on Collision

The trial began on May well 10, 1951 in Prince George, BC with a 12-member jury and Justice A.D.
Seconds later, two train engines hit, head-on.
A communication issue was blamed for the appalling crash. "The crash brought down all
communication lines so there was no way of radioing for enable," mentioned the Virtual Museum.
"Prosecutors mentioned Atherton omitted the words "at Cedarside" from one sentence." Such
omission would have misled the troop train engineer as to the place of the Transcontinental train.

Lawyer John Diefenbaker for the Defence

"Diefenbaker for the Defence," CBC Digital Archives 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 avert any additional horrific accidents at that point. The sacrifice created by the 1 RCHA
gunners was recognized at Valemount, BC on September ten to 12, 2010 on the 60th anniversary of
the train crash