T.H.&B. Trestle Accident - January 1895

“A terrible and costly accident occurred yesterday on the bridge being erected by the T. H. & B. contractors over Binkley’s Hollow between this city and Dundas.”

Hamilton Herald.   January 10, 1895.

It was definitely a major construction project, a wooden trestle across a large ravine :

“The trestle is built by erecting bents made of square timber, some of which are 64 feet high. These bents are raised up to their place by an engine with blocks and pulleys, one being attached to the bent last put in position, and on this block is the greater portion of the weight and strain of the next bent being raised, although the guy ropes lessen the strain somewhat:”¹

¹ “Down came the Bridge : Collapse of the T. H. & B. Trestle Over Binkley’s Hollow”

Hamilton Herald.   January 10, 1895 .

The sun had already set, and the light was failing at the construction project, when an otherwise uneventful day ended on a very eventful note:

“At about 5:45 yesterday afternoon, a bent 64 feet high had just been raised to position and fastened by spiking planks to the bent last raised, and the workmen had nearly all gone back from the spot, only about three or four remaining to finish when, without a moment’s warning, sixteen of the twenty-four bents which had been put up, came down with a terrible crash, smashing many of the he square timbers into kindling wood, and making a pile of twisted and broken wood out of what had been the finest square timber ever put into a bridge or trestle.”¹

The sound of the crashing timber could be heard for miles, but when that sound died down, another sound could be heard, the cries and groans of the men who had been trapped under the falling wood. Fellows workers immediately rushed to help, and it only took a few minutes for the injured to be rescued.

 Medical help was sent for with great urgency as some of the injuries were awful:

“ Drs. Ross, Bertram and Smith, of Dundas, were quickly at the scene and took charge of the wounded men. One poor fellow had both legs broken and left arm broken in two places, besides other minor injuries. Another had his left leg broken and was injured internally.

“Had the accident occurred fifteen minutes sooner, twenty or thirty men would probably have been killed or badly mangled.”¹

Of the two injured men, Peter Rogers had the worst outcome. When he arrived at the hospital, there was some doubt whether he would survive at all. The doctors did manage to save his life, but could not save his legs, both of which had to be amputated.

The next morning, a Herald reporter interviewed some of the workmen who had been employed on the project:

“The whole structure was regarded by the men as unsafe, it not being built by practical bridge builders, but by men who were willing to work for $1.25 a day, and more than once they demurred at getting on the lofty timbers, which frequently swayed in a threatening manner.”¹

^`               Work on the trestle eventually resumed. The completed structure was then covered to a great depth with soil on either side and a tunnel was provided for the flow of Ancaster creek. The trestle could not fall again.