A train derailment that sparked a massive Christmas evacuation in Manitoba

Cathie Bernd and her son Justin Markus are looking through old photos of a time they would never forget.

Bernd and her family were in the process of moving to the community of Oakville, Man., to begin a new chapter a week before Christmas in 1992.

“Come to Oakville, it’s pleasant there, it’s quiet, friendly, yes, yes. But it wasn’t quiet.”

A major incident was playing out nearby as they were pulling up to their new home.

“Within about 10 minutes we had a knock on our door. ‘Hello. Welcome to Oakville. Please leave.’ Like, what?” Cathie recalled.

An axle on a CN Rail locomotive failed on a bitterly cold Friday night on Dec. 18. It caused 29 cars to derail, a number of which were carrying hazardous material.

As the toll was being assessed, officials had concerns a chilling wind would blow toxic fumes from the leaking rail cars into Oakville. There was worry that it could make people ill and even become fatal.

This meant Bernd’s family and many of the 410 residents were suddenly getting settled into hotel rooms.

There were few answers on next steps.

“There was the uncertainty if Oakville was going to explode, will we have a home to go back to?” Bernd said.

For some, the uncertainty wasn’t much of a concern. Markus was just three years old at the time of the incident. For him and his siblings, they were making the best of it in the hotel.

“Wandering the hotel with a pack of kids and enjoy ourselves, really.”

Len and Judy Essay were out of town for a hockey game when they got word of the derailment.

“You know we were all there partying and having a good time and then they phone and say, you know, you’ve been evacuated,” Len said.

Len was a councillor at the time and said one thing that sticks out to him is how the community was able to stick together.

“The help was unbelievable, the comradeship. Everybody got along. It was as good as it could be given the circumstances,” Len said.

Shelley Napier was a duty officer with the province’s Emergency Measures Organization at the time of the derailment.

She said it was critically important the community united during a time full of uncertainty.

“Resiliency comes in sticking together. Neighbour helping neighbour, friend helping friend. Children having what’s comfortable, friends to play with and being around people you know and trust.”

For residents, days away turned into a week, which meant no Christmas at home. Then another week went byc, which took them into the new year.

While the community wasn’t allowed in, there were many people working on the front line during the holiday season, ensuring a smooth cleanup and protection of property.

Colin Wilcox was with the RCMP at the time and says the most important thing was to help bring ease to those miles away from their homes.

“We had members patrolling on snowmobiles at night…. The main was we didn’t want anything to happen to anybody’s house,” Wilcox said.

Charlie Joyce was working for CN and said the bitter cold really stands out to him decades later.

“You had to wear lots of clothes on that one. It wasn’t fun out there. It was wide open there too, no protection from any of the wind,” he said.

Following weeks of staying with friends or family or in hotel rooms, residents were finally allowed to return home on Jan. 10, 1993, a holiday season they wouldn’t soon forget.

“It was kind of a special Christmas,” Judy Essay said. “Because we were safe wherever we were, whether it was a hotel room or with family.”

For Wilcox and many of the Mounties helping to protect the community, the support of town volunteers helped make the job as smooth as possible.

“The baking those ladies made, unbelievable. Everybody raved about having a coffee, a tart and the whole works,” Wilcox said with a laugh.

No injuries were reported during the incident.

While not forgetting the anxiety and stress it brought everyone having to experience the unknowns in real time, Bernd and Markus say it really showed the best of their new community. The incident derailed the holiday season and their welcome to Oakville but created life-long friends and memories.

“Beautiful people, beautiful town. They treated us so well,” Bernd said.

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