The Blue Ghost Tunnel

1903
January 3rd - No.4 Express Collides with a light Mogul 100 yards from the west entrance to the Blue Ghost Tunnel killing the 2 firemen that managed the boilers.
Mr. Charles Horning was killed instantly Abraham Desult sustained burns on 90% of his body and died 5 hours later in St. Catharines General Hospital .

Wall collapse of Lock 7 near Thorold has shipping company officials figuring out how to ease problems; Photo inc; Welland Canal (Locks).

THERE IS A BRUCE TRAIL PROVINCIAL PARK PLACE UP THE HILL BEHIND THE NIAGARA ON THE LAKE NIAGARA COLLEGE. IF YOU CROSS THE ROAD, AND FOLLOW THE TRAIL THROUGH THE GOLF COURSE (WATCH OUT FOR FLYING GOLF BALLS), YOU CAN CONNECT TO THE BRUCE TRAIL THAT RUNS ALONG THE 3RD WELLAND CANAL, AT THE BRIDGE AND FOLLOW THE TRAIL DOWN SOUTH EAST BETWEEN LOCK 17 AND 18 (HEADING SOUTH FROM THE BRIDGE). ITS FULL OF WATER, ROCKS AND BRUSH, THE TRAIL IS UNMARKED, YOU WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS TO FIND IT

MARKING POINT FOR TRAIL THAT LEADS TO EAST END OF THE BLUE GHOST TUNNEL

janet Carnochan was born in 1839 in Stamford, C.W, ( Canada West ) and educated in Niagara. She was the principal of the Public School for six years and teacher in the high school for twenty-two years. She was secretary of the Public Library, the oldest in Ontario, for thirty-five years. She was foundress of the Niagara Historical Society and its president until her death. She was the curator of the Memorial Museum and author of the History of Niagara and many pamphlets on local historical subjects.

The following was described by By the late Janet Carnochan in her publication "Graves and Inscriptions in the Niagara Peninsula"

In the register kept by Rev. Wm. Leeming, of Stamford and Chippawa, is often mentioned as the place of marriage, burial, or baptism, the "German Church," and here near Thorold is the graveyard, although the church no longer exists, as it was taken down to make way for the new canal.

Many of the bodies buried here were removed to the beautiful new cemetery, but the greater part of the old graveyard remains. The site is fine, undulating ground, almost hill and valley. While copying inscriptions in this city of the dead it was strange to see a vessel passing so close to us that we could hear every word spoken.

The church was built chiefly by the exertions of George Keefer, whose history is the history of the early days of Thorold, he having been the earliest settler. His body was removed with the old stone which bears the simple inscription:
"Sacred to the memory of George Keefer, born in Sussex County, colony of New Jersey, Nov. 8th, 1773, died at Thorold, June 28th, 1858, aged 84 years."
He was the director of the Welland Canal Co., and turned the first sod. In the history of Thorold are the picture£ of himself, his two wives, and fifteen children. His first wife was Catharine Lampman, and here no doubt is a memorial of an ancestor of the gifted poet Lampman, who died lately at Ottawa:
"In memory of Peter Lampman, who died in 1834, aged 86. He came from New York to this province in 1783 with his family and has resided fifty years in the township of Niagara. He was always a pious, faithful and respectable member of the German Lutheran Church."
In the marriage record of the Stamford Associate Church nearly all the licenses were granted by Robert Grant, Esq., and here is his grave:
"Sacred to the memory of Robert Grant, Esq., born at Inverness, Scotland, 16th Nov., 1776, died at Queenston, U. C., 16th May, 1838. This monument is erected by his daughter Christina, wife of Jacob Keefer, Esq., of Thorold."

Here occur the wellknown names of Ball, Clement Hoover, Seburn, Field, Ker.

Walter H. Ball died in 1822, and Jane Catharine Ball in 1818, while Henry Clement Ball, born in 1789, and Mary Ball, born in 1796, must have been born here soon after the family came, in 1782; Charity Ann Hoover was buried here in 1829, Margaret Hoover in 1826, and Jacob Ball in 1819.

A Grand Trunk Express drops through a bridge.

On Wednesday evening Thorold was thrown into consternation by a report that the fast express, which passes Merriton eastward bound without stopping about 7:40 each evening, had gone through a high bridge near St. George, which is the first station beyond Harrisburg. The wildest rumours were afloat, but the morning papers yesterday brought presumably correct reports, from which we condense :

The large iron bridge collapsed, carrying with it the latter part of the train, consisting of the dining car, a Pullman and a first-class coach. The rest of the train crossed in safety. Of those three cars two fell to the ground, namely, the dining car and the coach, while the Pullman hangs suspended from the bridge, which broke about the fourth strand from the end. The bridge is an iron trestle with stone abutments, about 300 feet long. The occupants of the two cars, which were pretty well crowded, were hurled below to a depth of 60 feet, and most of them who were not killed outright were mangled in a shocking manner.

The number of killed as far as learned is ten, while the wounded will probably reach the number of thirty.

THE KILLED
W. M. Wemp - London
E. R. Balnes - London
George Leggatt - - Mitchell
A. W. Francis - Woodstock
Dr. Swan - Woodstock
Miss Moore - Brantford
Joseph Peere - Woodstock
Mr. McLean - Detroit
Harry Angle (FireMan)
A Waiter (Name Unknown)
THE INJURED
Miss McLeod - Ingersoll
Mary Chafle - Pontiac Michigan
James Hyslop - Goderich
John McKinley - Detroit
Fred Hancock - London
Thomas N. Doutney (Lecturer)
John H. Wilson - Chatham
George Margetts - Niagara Falls
R. Hilton - St. Catharines
Mr. McGlaughlin - London
William Benedict - Sanilac Michigan
D. H. Lequeane - Cleveland
W. Vincent - Paris
H. Johnson - Windsor
D. D. Cooper - Niagara Falls
Miss Andrews - Lambeth
Mrs. Lendall - Detroit
Mr. & Mrs. Marshall - Dorchester
Mrs Evans - Hamilton
Mr. Martin - Woodstock
Mr. Knight - Woodstock
D. W. Karn - Woodstock
Mrs. Higgins - Toronto

Another has been added to the long list of catastrophies, more than one of them attended with loss of life, which have occured at the Merriton station of the Grand Trunk Railway. On Monday morning last, about 12:30 o'clock, as the engine of a train from the bridge, detached from its train, was taking water at the tank, the driver saw a long train of coal cars, twenty-five or thirty in number, coming down the Welland railway incline, evidently out of control. The driver at the tank undertook to get his engine out of the road, but there was no time, so he and his fireman jumped to save their lives, and in less time than it takes to write it the runaway train was upom him with such fearful force as to send his engine nearly down to the Niagara Central crossing. The engine of the runaway train was overturned, and the whole train, with an awful crash, was piled into an indescribable mass on and beside the track. The scene immediately after baffles all attempts at description. Trucks were driven into the ground nearly out of sight. The woodwork was splintered into matchwood, and the stacks of coal that were mixed through only served to make the confusion the greater.

Though the wholesale destruction of property is saddening, yet much more so is the loss of life, and this time three was the number of the human victims, all belonging to the runaway train, viz., engineer J. Williams of Niagara Falls, and old employee, 62 years of age, who leaves a widow and grown family ; fireman M. Sherry, a widower, leaving two small children ; and brakeman Allen of Hamilton. All the bodies were fearfully mutilated, and many of the bystanders were unable to stand the sight as the remains were extricated by the wreckers, a wrecking train soon being on hand.

It is said that engineer Williams lost control of his train above Thorold, and numbers of Thorold people heard the danger whistle as the train rushed past. Some of the remarks past by the railway men while working at the wreck were very suggestive, and indicated that a far greater number of accidents were very narrowly escaped than the public had any idea of.

It is supposed that the company's loss on property alone will not be covered by $50,000.

An inquest was held by coroner Goodman the same afternoon ; and after taking the evidence of a large number of witnesses, mostly railroaders, the following verdict was reached :

That the deceased, James Williams, Michael Sherry and Robert Allan, came to their death by a collision between trains Nos. 471 and 551, near Merriton, about 12:30 a.m., on December 3rd. The cause of the collision we believe to be from not having sufficient brakes on train 471 to control it : also, that the engineer did not reverse or alarm, and that the rear brakeman was inexperienced. We further find that all freight trains should be brought to a standstill above the grade at Thorold : that an additional brakeman should be provided on all freight trains descending this grade, and a special switchman be appointed to attend to the switch known as the welland Railway switch.

The Coroner, in summoning up, expressed the opinion that, apart from the loss of lives in such accidents, which were numerous at Merriton, the interest on the money lost by the company, by suck smashups, would pay the wages of extra men required on switches and trains for over 100 years.

As reported by the Daily Standard dated January 3rd 1903........

The headlines flashed across the front cover "BAD TRAIN WRECK, No.4 Express Collides with a light Mogul Near Merritton Tunnel." (Known today as the "Blue Ghost Tunnel")

"On the Grandtrunk rail line near Merritton a serious and fatal accident occurred near the Merritton Tunnel today. The accident occurred around 7:03am at a point about 100 yards from the tunnels western entrance. Engine Number 975 was an 80 ton mogul train to leave from Niagara falls at 6:00am each morning and run through to Hamilton .

Engine Number 4 express train was one of the best and fastest trains on the G.T. R. and was scheduled to arrive in Merritton at 6:28am. The Engineer's name was Duke and the fireman that manned the boiler was Abraham Desult both from Sarnia. As nearly as can be learned it was 7:03 am when the ill-fated express train passed a small telegraph station near the tunnel,

A few moments later and almost one third of a mile down the track the engine of the express train and the light mogul train met with a terrible crash. Both engines at the time of the collision were in full steam when they met head on. The accident happened on a sharp curve where both engineers could not see each other for a distance of 200ft. The estimated speed of both trains were about 22MPH at the time of the collision.

Both engineers escaped with only broken limbs and minor cuts to face and arms while Mr. Charles Horning (firemen) for the express train was killed instantly. The reporter described the condition of the body as being jammed between the boiler and tentler, his body was horribly mangled. When rescuers went to pull on the limbs of the man to try to free him they broke off. When some of the remains were taken away, his mid section was so tightly wedged between the tentler and boiler that his remaining body could not be pulled free. It was even noted that his watch on one of his arms was still working......

The other firemen (Abraham Desult) from the mogal train was smashed into the boiler of the train, and received burns to 90% of his body. He was rushed to the St.Catharines General Hospital were he died 5 hours after the accident."

The entrance to the tunnel that one can explore today was the side where the accident had happened. The trains did not collide in the tunnel as most folks had thought. It happened about 100 yards from the entrance of the tunnel just beyond the path we walk down to get to the BGT.....

The spirit of the two firemen could be part of the paranormal activity that is found at the BGT today .......

At this time the cemetery was called the "Old Cemetery" formerly "The Grave Yard" formerly "St. Peters Burial Grounds" formerly " The Lutheran Burial Place" then formerly "The Old German Church Cemetery"

By the early 1920's came the final blow to the cemetery when it was decided upon to build a new canal that would be later called the Fourth Welland Canal. This would require that the area occupied by the Old Cemetery and once the site of St. Peters Church be covered by a canal pondage area.

The call went out for any persons having relatives in the Old Cemetery to arrange to have their remains moved to the new Lakeview Cemetery. Those that made claims to have their loved ones moved got underway by July 1923. This would make the cemetery 150 years old by this date. Total graves that were in the cemetery was numbered at 913 graves, the oldest one being that of a Hannah Lampton, Buried in 1793. Many of these graves were that of the United Loyalists and their entire families. The government at the time that was to perform the removal of the graves stated "Graves that were not claimed or those without markers would remain in the grave yard."

By the time all was said and done a total of 250 graves had been removed out of 913 graves, leaving a total of 663 graves that are still in the area that is now under water in the pondage area by the Blue Ghost Tunnel.

It is unbelievable to think that anyone could just flood over a grave site with bodies still buried in the ground. The old graveyard is nothing more than a watery grave site for all those who were once prominent citizens of the township of Thorold, Ontario. To us this is a great injustice that should have never happened.

Front St picture, taken adjacent to the paper mill looking north along Front St, Maplehurst (Keefer Mansion Inn) can be seen in the left central part of the picture.

The Old Pumphouse now stands where this church used to be. Located below the Lakeview Cemetery and close to the West End of The Blue Ghost Tunnel