Parry Sound Ontario - When you live near a rail line, you don't want to hear a bump in the night.
 
A loud "bump" was heard late in the evening of 7 Mar 2015 by residents on Church Street as a Canadian Pacific (CP) train traveling through Parry Sound along the Canadian National (CN) rail line, was involved in a minor accident.
 
The CP train had been carrying new rail and as the cargo became dislodged, a rail struck an unused utility pole at the Church Street crossing, and subsequently fell off the train at the Gibson Street trestle.
 
The severed utility pole can still be seen alongside the CN tracks at the crossing on Church Street.
 
In correspondence with Jeremy Berry, media relations spokesperson for Canadian Pacific, he was able to confirm on behalf of CP that shortly after 21:00 on 7 Mar 2015 a CP train traveling through Parry Sound lost rails that it was carrying causing damage to a crossing and an unused utility pole.
 
Investigation
 
Berry said that an investigation conducted by CP determined that "the incident was a result of a failure of the bolts on the clamps which hold down the rail."
 
Berry said that immediately following the incident, CP worked closely with CN to make all necessary repairs.
 
"Safety is fundamental to what we do at CP and incidents like this are not acceptable," wrote Berry.
 
"CP is working to ensure similar incidents do not occur in the future."
 
It was also mentioned that to CP's knowledge, there were no known injuries as a result of the incident.
 
Memorable Night
 
The night of 7 Mar 2015 is a particularly memorable one for Larry Popert, resident of Church Street and owner of The Whistle Stop, which sits metres from the rail line.
 
"The train came by and it seemed to be rattling a lot and it was traveling quickly," said Popert.
 
"I've heard a lot of trains and this one just seemed to be different. As the train passed it shook the whole building."
 
Popert said that he "jumped up" and went outside where he noticed a severed utility pole, which had struck The Whistle Stop, and the rail crossing gates remained in a downward position with the lights flashing and the bells sounding, unable to return to their upright position as communication lines lay draped over the gates.
 
"I started getting chest pains at this time and I called CN to let them know what happened and that people couldn't cross the road," said Popert.
 
"The police arrived and they were looking up and down the tracks for damage and you could see rubble all the way down the tracks, like fresh gravel."
 
At this point, Popert asked the police to call him an ambulance as his chest pain had not subsided.
 
Popert suffered a heart attack and underwent a stent procedure at Health Sciences North in Sudbury.
 
"I can't say whether this caused my heart attack, I'll leave that to the doctors, but I guess it precipitated it," said Popert.
 
Popert said that the speed that trains travel through Parry Sound is "certainly an issue" and that the horseshoe-like bend of the CN rail line (along William, Cascade, and River Streets) is an "accident waiting to happen.

Paige Phillips.