Hurricane Hazel

Back in 1953 a short time after I started on the CNR Hurricane Hazel came through Toronto doing a great deal of infrastructure damage. One of the damaged bridges was the Queen St Lakeshore Rd road and streetcar bridge. It is my understanding that when he heard of the damage to the road bridge, JD Hayes Superintendent of the CNR in Toronto, ordered that several cars of OCS coal be taken to the railway bridge and left on top of the bridge to hold it down, so it couldn't be washed away, which it wasn't. Because I worked in Mimico at the time and didn't have a car I was relegated to using the streetcar to get to work, which I and anyone else in my position would have to do. The CNR then ran a caboose from Toronto Bathurst St. to Mimico which we could get on a Sunnyside, at Queen St. and Roncesvalles Ave. At this time there was a popular amusement park at Sunnyside. A Story goes back to the late 1800s when horse died on Roncesvalles Ave, around the corner from Queen St, and because a report would have to be filled out by the Police Dept. at the time, the policeman on duty dragged the horse around to Queen St because he couldn't or didn't want to spell Roncesvalles. Anyway I go to Sunnyside and get on the caboose as it comes in. When the train gets to Mimico I go to jump of the train while it is still running and my foot gets caught on the step and I fall between the caboose and the engine, while still holding on to the hand grab. My life went racing before my eyes as I saw that rail moving below me, but I managed to pull myself back up and was promptly given hell for jumping off the moving train in that manner. I was told in no uncertain terms always face the train when jumping off and that was a lesson I never forgot.