November 2, 1913 which not one, but two women were killed by streetcar, including Elsie Cairns, 19, who was wiped out at St. Matthew and St. Cat by a driver who assumed she'd clear the tracks on time. And after a day of shopping with a friend, Mrs. J. Rothschild of 323 Grosvenor fell at the tracks near Victoria and St. Catherine and her head was completely severed.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Woman decapitated by streetcar in Westmount
November 2, 1913 which not one, but two women were killed by streetcar, including Elsie Cairns, 19, who was wiped out at St. Matthew and St. Cat by a driver who assumed she'd clear the tracks on time. And after a day of shopping with a friend, Mrs. J. Rothschild of 323 Grosvenor fell at the tracks near Victoria and St. Catherine and her head was completely severed.
My grandfather was hit by a street car on Ste Catherine Street, probably around 1911. Dragged a for a bit. Was in a coma. The lawsuit went through various appeals on rules of evidence: whether the police investigator could use his notes in a certain fashion...
ReplyDeleteCentre-door streetcars were in vogue in Montreal for a while in the early 1900s, fashioned after similar 8-wheel cars in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it can be seen when a centre-door car, as shown in the postcard photo, was turning left, the trucks under the car would swivel to follow the track curvature, the right rail curving out below the centre door steps, as the car turned left.
( The curved rail was outside the car on the left side also as a car turned right, but, there was no centre door on the left side. )
If a person slipped on or missed the step as the car was moving turning left and fell towards the car, that person stood a good chance of falling across the right rail, now outside the car side due to the curvature, and in front of the approaching right wheels of the rear truck.
A poor safety design in this regard.
Thank You.
I've noticed a spike in food prices.
ReplyDeleteAt the grocery store yesterday they wanted to charge $4 for a bag of six.
The little place down the street had the same 'deal'. Ridiculously pricey...
I ended up not buying 'em.
-Kevin
The picture was taken at the foot of Victoria looking east along St. Catherine. The further greystone is still there as a condo co-op, but the corner one burnt down about 1970.
ReplyDeleteWestmount Station was probably not built at that time. It opened in 1914, replacing the original St. Antoine station at Abbott.
The article on the decapitation said the accident took place at the corner of Western (de Maisonn.) and Victoria which was straight track. So if the streetcar had been a "Scotch" car with a centre door the projecting wheel trucks wouldn't have been a factor. As it says, nobody witnessed the woman slipping, or how it happened.
Zoom forward to the early 50: my mother told me a woman was killed at the corner of Sherbrooke and Atwater when apparently she tried to board a streetcar too late. Somehow the doors closed on her and she was thrown as the car turned the corner. With the folding steps of most cars it would have been impossible to close the doors on her, but maybe it was a pre-1915 rush-hour extra car with a high, fixed step at the rear entrance door.
One problem with streetcars before outside opening and closing doors and steps were installed was that patrons could board and descend at any time from cars that were in motion.
ReplyDeleteOn some of the older green/creme 2-man cars the patrons would stand on the rear folding step when the car was full, keeping the doors open, the car could still be moved.
Anyway, the point was, a passenger attempting to board or descend a moving car could slip and fall, the centre-door cars being more dangerous in this regard as the centre steps were ahead of the rear truck and wheels, whether the car was on straight track or going around curves.
( This was not to infer or suggest a 'Scotch' type car was involved in the decapitation, but, just to illustrate the greater hazard of having the car doors just AHEAD of the rear truck, rather than behind.
The comment was written to provide a bit of history to readers that may have never seen a streetcar, let alone a car with centre doors. )
If a person fell parallel to the track they stood a good chance of getting run over if they rolled inwards to the wheels on a centre-door car.
The addition of folding doors and steps helped prevent passengers from attempting to board or descend from moving cars.
A determined person will find out how to defeat any safety appliance that may be installed to save him from himself.
Years ago a rider had just descended from a Can Car/Brill Autobus by using the rear door. It was icy and dark. As he let go of the red swinging gate inside the bus, the rear doors closed as intended.
The air brake and rear door interlock released, the driver stepped on the throttle and the bus pulled away.
The just-descended rider then slipped, falling backwards against the moving bus doors and went under the rear wheels, the driver unaware.
In December 1968 I got off the 105 at Elmhurst and walked east along Sherbrooke to go down Elmhurst to visit a friend.
( There was a special round yellow on black 'Exit' autobus sign just west of Patricia where all people had to exit before the autobusses turned left across Sherbrooke and into Elmhurst Loop.
A 102 Somerled bus was facing out across Sherbrooke to turn right next to the Shell gas station, and go east on it's route back to Atwater.
The 102 driver turned on his right turn signal, closed the door and inched up to the curb and stopped.
He looked right, then left for foot and auto traffic, and started to move to turn right on Sherbrooke.
As he was moving out, looking left for traffic, a woman came dashing around the corner from the gas station and darted right in front of the moving bus, the driver looking left.
She was knocked down and killed.
Thank You.
Add to this section of the blog the following story of an horrific streetcar/truck accident:
ReplyDeletehttp://coolopolis.blogspot.ca/2009/07/75-years-and-who-remembers-only.html?q=Liege
I had to dig to find it--under "Liege".