61st AUCTION - day 4

Desaster Mail: 1908, 27 May, Canada, Railway accident at Paquette Dam, stationer

Desaster Mail

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1908, 27 May, Canada, Railway accident at Paquette Dam, stationery envelope 2c. from Craik, Saskatchewan 23.5.08 to Dorking, England, with straight line "DAMAGED IN A WRY WRECK" on reverse. Shortly before midnight on 27 May a wave of 200 million cubic feet of water, 20 foot high, began surging down the Current River Valley. The Paquette Dam collapsed, leaving a 150 yard break and washing away the ballast on the approach to the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge. Five were killed, incl. the three train crew, when the train left the tracks and plunged into the swollen Current River. The Paquette Dam was never rebuilt.

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Condition: postal stationery