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      Three hundred feet of the Paquette Dam were affected when a one hundred fifty foot opening in the dam let water through. Five men were killed with the wreckage of a train when it ran headlong into the riverbank.

      The spring of 1908 was a season of extremes with May temperatures in the mid 80's. In the middle of May, the rains came, causing streams to swell. Shortly before midnight on May 27 a 200 million cubic foot, 20 foot high wall of water began surging down the Current …

      Photo showing the swollen Current River. The flood of 1908 caused the loss of lives, power outages, and destruction of property, making it one of the Lakehead's greatest tragedies.

      Photo showing the CPR train wreck at Current River, May 28, 1908.

      Photo showing the damage done to the flumes, as a result of the flooding of the Current River, May 27, 1908.

      Photo showing the Current River Disaster. Heavy rains and flooding caused the tracks to be washed out, resulting in the derailment of a CPR freight train at Current River Park.

      Photo showing the destruction to the Paquette Dam caused by heavy rains and flooding of the Current River., The rains poured from mid May, swelling streams already engorged by sudden spring runoff. At the foot of a steep valley, a few miles downstream from the Onion Lake Dam, the smaller …

      Also P3529

      Clearing away the debris from the May 28, 1908 Current River Disaster.

      A photo of a steam shovel and work crew excavating and clearing the way for the construction of the railway near Keewatin in the early 1900's. To the left of the photo is the steam engine used to transport the shovel to the area.

      A winter view at Chambers Camp #4 - McArthur and McFadden Contract - along the Trans Continental Railway. The crew and horses pose near Keewatin, Ontario.

      Officials examine the wreckage of a derailed freight train at Current River Park., On-lookers came by electric streetcar, canoe, rowboat and launch to view the destruction caused when the Paquette Dam burst. A westbound freight-train had derailed at Current River Park killing the engineer and brakeman, when the tracks were …

      On May 27,1908, the Paquette Dam broke plunging the Canadian Pacific 91522 head first into the riverbed. Engineer Savard, brakeman Inman and fireman McBride died instantly. Fort William offered to help Port Arthur as the cost for clean up and repairs would be about two hundred thousand dollars.

      Photo of a work gang on a rock cut during construction of the Trans Continental Railway near the Manitoba border. G. Campbell had the contract for this portion of the railway construction during the early 1900s.

      Photo of a work crew posing by a ballast pile required for rail construction of the Trans Continental Railway.

      Photo depicts the hard manual labour that was required in the construction of the railroad through Northwestern Ontario in the early 1900's.

      Photo of one of many rock cuts that had to be made in order to lay the steel. A handmade boom was used to remove the larger boulders.

      Photo of a railway gang working on a rock cut. They may be clearing away rock and debris to prepare for the laying of track.

      A work gang clearing boulders from a rock cut. Thompson & Eagam were the contractors for this portion of rail construction.

      A Linde photo of a work gang removing boulders from a rock cut in preparation for the laying of rail and ties. Notice the men operating the boom in the upper right of the photo.