A new book set to be released this weekend takes a deep dive into the Ottawa Valley’s worst disaster.
Author Jamie Bramburger says “Sudden Impact – The Almonte Train Wreck of 1942” takes a deep dive into an incident where a steel troop train smashed through a passenger train carrying workers from small communities like Chalk River, Arnprior, Renfrew, Pembroke, and Petawawa into Ottawa, killing 38 people and injuring over 150 more.
He explains that the inspiration for the new book came while chasing a different story.
Bramburger’s latest offering is the culmination of four years of research and writing that dives into the ripples caused by what he considers the worst tragedy suffered in the Ottawa Valley.
Bramburger says his book goes deeper than the reports and inquiries done at the time, reaching out to the families of the lives lost or forever changed who have continued to carry the story for generations afterwards.
He says the effort has created a rich and deeply personal retelling.
Bramburger has invited some of those families to the book’s launch this Sunday, February 25th, at 11:30 a.m. inside Pembroke’s Ottawa Valley Heritage Centre, before he presents at the Algonquin College speaker series at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26th.
(written by Kasey Egan)
