It crossed the state and provided a shortcut between the Canadian cities of Montreal and Saint John, New Brunswick.
This order was misread and the freight train mistakenly believed that Third 39 was now running eight hours late, giving them time to reach Brownville Junction before the end of their 16-hour shift.
[3] At 7:14 a.m., as dawn approached, the trains collided head-on just west of Onawa station on a curve beside Little Greenwood Pond[5] at a combined speed of 50 mph.
[1] Seventeen people were killed outright, including six children, the enginemen and firemen of both trains, and six more dying after being freed from the wreckage.
[1] Fifty people were injured, some severely, and were taken by special train to hospitals in Brownville Junction and Bangor.