December 20, 1919
In the early hours of December 20, 1919, the temperature along the Moosehead Subdivision had fallen to eighteen below zero. Little Greenwood Pond, just west of Onawa, Maine, lay frozen under a bright winter sky. Snow clung to the ledges beneath Borestone Mountain as Canadian Pacific locomotives labored through the darkness.¹
Rail traffic was heavy in the days before Christmas. Immigrant traffic arriving at Saint John was moving inland toward Montreal and beyond. Among those trains was Immigrant Passenger Train No. 39, running westbound in multiple sections.¹
By morning, that routine winter movement would become one of the most tragic collisions in Canadian Pacific Railway history.
Running in Sections
Passenger Train No. 39 was classified as a first-class train and held superiority over freight movements under the Employee Time Table (ETT). Its scheduled passing times at designated stations governed the movement of other trains, whether or not it stopped at those locations.
During periods of heavy traffic, additional sections of No. 39 were operated. These sections were governed by train orders stating that they would “run” a specified number of hours late. For example, if the first section of No. 39 was scheduled to pass a station at 9:00 p.m., a train order stating “2nd No. 39 run 1 hour late” meant that the second section could not pass that station before 10:00 p.m.
To visually indicate additional sections, the first and second sections displayed green flags or green classification lights. The final section displayed white, signaling that no further sections followed. Freight crews relied on these time calculations and signals to determine when they could safely enter the main track.
Under timetable rules, opposing freight trains were required to be clear of the main track at least ten minutes before the scheduled arrival of a first-class passenger train at the last listed station. Any miscalculation in interpreting these orders could place trains in direct conflict.
The Interstate Commerce Commission later determined that errors in interpreting and executing these train orders contributed to the collision.²
Photos by H. F. Pierce.
Photos by H. F. Pierce.
H. F. Pierce lived at Onawa in the early 1900s and did various jobs. One of those jobs was to keep the pump house operating for the water tower. He also worked odd jobs on camps as well as hauling in wood and other materials that were easiest to deliver in winter. I know this because I have a signed photograph he took in front of an Onawa camp in the winter with his horse and sled on the ice after what appears to have been a delivery of firewood. Obviously, among his many talents, he was also an amateur photographer and, as such, did take the well-known photographs of the Onawa wreck.
The Collision
Shortly after 7:00 a.m., as daylight broke, Freight No. 78 rounded the sharp curve beside Little Greenwood Pond. At approximately 7:13 a.m., the two locomotives came into view with little distance between them.¹
Emergency braking was applied, but the impact was unavoidable.
The locomotives interlocked violently. The tender of the passenger engine crushed forward, forcing the cab ahead. Passenger and colonist cars telescoped into one another. Freight cars accordion-folded against the rock face bordering the track.¹
Nineteen passengers were dead or dying at the scene, and two firemen were killed instantly.¹ Contemporary reports later recorded twenty-three fatalities and thirty-four injuries.³
The colonist car, telescoped by the passenger car ahead of it, was thrown down the embankment near Little Greenwood Pond. Photograph by H. F. Pierce.
Fox Movietone News footage filmed December 21–22, 1919 documents salvage operations and the transport of injured passengers.
Rescue and Response
Despite the devastation, the absence of fire prevented even greater loss.¹
Relief efforts began quickly. Word was sent to Brownville Junction. Doctors and nurses boarded a relief train and were transported to the site.¹
The engineer operating the passenger train was from McAdam, making this tragedy especially personal for our community. As a railway town, McAdam was not only connected to this line — its residents worked on it.
Newspaper reports confirm that wrecking crews from nearby divisions were dispatched to the scene.
By December 21 and 22, Fox Movietone cameraman Daniel Maher had arrived to film the aftermath. Newsreel footage shows injured passengers being transported, salvage crews working among twisted wreckage, and smoke still rising from damaged equipment.³
Official Findings
The Interstate Commerce Commission conducted a formal investigation.²
Its report determined that the wreck stemmed from errors in interpreting and executing train orders governing the movement of the third section of Train No. 39.²
At the time, the Moosehead Subdivision relied on timetable and train order authority rather than automatic block signaling. The tragedy underscored the risks inherent in that system during periods of heavy traffic.
At a Glance
Date: December 20, 1919
Location: Onawa, Maine
Trains Involved: Passenger No. 39 (Third Section) & Freight No. 78
Confirmed Fatalities: 23
Injured: 34
Cause: Misinterpretation of train orders²
Memory and Legacy
For years, remnants of the wreck remained near Little Greenwood Pond. Later signal installations marked the location.¹
On the Canadian Pacific Railway, accidents were sometimes referred to as “affairs.” But this one became known simply — and permanently — as The Onawa Wreck.¹
The engineer operating the passenger train was from McAdam, a detail that makes this tragedy especially personal for our community.
More than a century later, preserved photographs, official reports, and eyewitness accounts allow us to understand what happened on that bitter December morning. They remind us of the human cost behind expanding rail networks and the evolution of railway safety.
References
Fox Movietone News Collection, “Onawa Railroad Accident—Outtakes,” filmed December 21–22, 1919.
H. F. Pierce, photographs of the Onawa Wreck, Onawa, Maine.
