The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-04-29
Railway Accidents I'm England md the United
state>-rhsir Causes and Proposed Modes OF
Prevention.

From the london Times, April 10
The report addressed 10 the Committee OF Prvy Council
for trade upon accidents which have occurred on rail
wsys during the year 1856" commences with sum total
az the number Of accidents In the yearyiz Isl killed.
and 39i injured II we take the latter number TO include
doubtless IL does many who die. and die no long time
after from the ncridenty they have met with this Is at
eat average OF death per day the railway of
the country. The nrst remarks then we have TO make H.
that We cannot call this satisfactory announcement 1t
cannot but strike everybody that considering the great
advantages have Ia invention, Skill and material, this
IS very high average, and that we ought not 10 be
satisfied till II made much lower. II l. true,
when we examine the competition OF this average,
tina, find IT, heg, raised by foreign and that
part OF may be- called irrelevant Trepass upon rail
way only accidentally railway cause Of DEATH because
the railway l. not uscd railway in this case but
ary TO il design and against express rule s,l 20 faras
even respassers killed for want OF more perfect
chn,ry such better drag the railway share with the
unfortunate uesraser the fault OF the death. certain
part however. Of the rerp deaths In number 81. Is
unfair ell Of the average against railways. We
hardly say the same of another Of deaths-evel
crossing which have produced 20 deaths Here there l.
no tresIas and the OF death foreign, but
strictly and properly railway cause, belonging IN regu
lar Arrangement connected with the permanent way
We need not o say that the existence Of 30 very
awkward and, In the technical sense, "nasty" an
rangcmcn AZ level crossings, imposes on railways very
scrOu responsibility wherever these crossings admit ot
beng looked aer large proportion Of them are indeed
wholly Of control. beng only passages from field
10 anohcr but thoc on public roads may be hooked after
strictly.
of security when informed that out of the Isl
railway deaths s year only % those Of passengers,
and OF those ~ owing TO the caresness Of the per
-ons themselves, though the numbers Of injured 2gs will
be- some balance the other WY. But must be remein
bere that whatever reduces the fatality In the &C
passengers u In the OF another section the
obss of servants and employees of the railways. of whom
li2 were Killed last year though ~ these We are told liz
deaths owing 10 "misoonduct or wan, OF caution
The part Of the per9ons themselves.
But to turn 10 the question Of remedies. Tho report
before speaks hopefully about the prospect Of reducing
this lstof casualties. One great cause Of railway acct
dents the number of trains and the consequent rspdy
with which they succeed another. son some 81 Tie
main lines railway the traffic has grown 40 large ~ 20
require nom - a. q. possibly more trains IN each d
rec,lon in "a hours This rapid succession would
little dicu,y IL the speed Of all The trains were the same
but the goods trains alternate with the passenger trains,
and have therefore a. be passed by their Trsuer In this
intricate state Of things unpunctualy in one train Is apt To
put whole succession of trains into disorder and
couiions ensue. One remedy for this, then y third
line u railz--an addition which. we are told, the
london and North Western conemplaes making between
Hechey and Dond6n. But such remedy ~ this would
| Involve a large tlay. one reader at hand is the
electric telegraph which act continual reviser of
The time nol" putting Of the next train according ~ Tie
hieness OF the preceding may want delay This The
plan adopted Tie New York and Erie Railway This
me " divided into sections, and upon each section, Ia
some convenient situation, h placed officer called
train dcsta'cher, 10 whom the time which every
arrives at departs from Iasaes each station cle.
graphed The trains are thus regulated by space well
~ time, The strain dispatcher having family man
before him giving him the position Of every train the
| line
Another grea, CAUSE Of accidents l. The inadeuacv NJ
| break power che high speed and heavy trains now
IN daily use on railway render this question one Of tho
first importance" ~ present even the d. .nt ,gnal
| i sometimes unable " check pursuing train, which
gOes fully aware that there IL obsifucung train
before a. but unable b stop itself Had The oncine
driver The power n checking his train within three or four
hundred yards ysry large majority Of oor accidents
might according b. this report be avoided but our prcsen
br,ak has not This power anything like II The opera
ton a. the "heavy break van" " slow besides the weight
which adds 10 Do train Our high speed requires TIE
application Of number Of breaks instntsbeoosy 70 Gil