The class was originally built in 1909 as E-14 "Ten Wheelers", then, between October 6, 1921, and July 8, 1928, they have been rebuilt into H-5 "Pacifics" and hauled mainly passenger trains such as the Empire Builder and the Oriental Limited.

1351 was tasked to pull a regular three-car passenger train from Vancouver, British Columbia to Seattle, Washington, and en route, it was to travel over a single-track line shared by GN and the Canadian National (CN) in the Brunette Valley near New Westminster.

[4] The train then proceeded too early and traversed onto the single-track at less than 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), and at 9:42 am, it collided head-on with the second section of the Transcontinental, led by CN 2-8-2 No.

1351’s tender telescoped into the mail car directly behind it, and while the locomotive remained upright, the H-5 was smashed up front, with the smokebox being torn from the boiler and the frame being cracked.

[4] A. Hager was killed upon impact, as was CN baggage man Harold H. Krinks, and twenty-one other passengers and crew members on both trains received minor injuries.

[4] Many people arrived at the scene to help bring the injured passengers and crew to safety, and a second mainline had to be temporarily built to clear the wreckage.