Handrahan's Cutting

Handrahan's Cutting is located on the Confederation Trail (formerly the PEI Railway) in western PEI at Harper, near Tignish. A wooden cross and commemorative plaque mark the site of PEI's worst ever rail accident. The registration includes the area around which the wreck is believed to have occurred.

The area of Handrahan's Cutting is significant as the site of PEI's worst ever rail accident which occurred in the early morning hours of February 21, 1932. A savage snow storm had been raging for days. A train became stuck in the high drifts and despite the work of two dozen shovellers, it would not budge. Other trains had been warned of the situation, however, another train came bounding down the tracks and directly struck the stuck train. Four people were killed and eleven were injured. Since then, the event has inspired a ballad and a painting and remains a dark episode in the history of the railway in PEI.

Source: PEI Heritage Advisory Committee Files

The following elements are reminders of the rail tragedy:

- the wooden cross

- the commemorative plaque describing the tragedy

- the remaining railway bed (now the Confederation Trail) and surrounding view