The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-07-22

ACCIDENTS ON RAfLwAxS.
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Tho report Of tho select committee appontad 70 in-
quire into the OF accdcnts rawa$A tAd into
the possibility Of removing any such cauee6 h{ rther
legislation, hrs just been issued The COMMITTEES reports
that it has heard much evidence upon the
Of inquiry brought before III that the cvdsace ~ been
chiefly given by officers ef the Board Of Trade py emil
nent engineers and by directors and other siiAls Of
railway companies 1nat it appears 10 tho conmittec
from that evidence that tho Of acqents "a rail
ways mny be classified under the three oliewtng heads
Inattention of servants defective matsxe either n tho
works or rolling stock; exces&yo speed. st II appears
To tho committee that the strict pcrsnn supervision
wi ch alone check tho carclcssncsA q the men Gnu
ploycd the lines and detect the insrfefency OF the
material used On thepa can bost Ia QaNAd hT tho at
teatop of tho companies themselves, md ~ tho very
serious losses they Incur by any a6Snt, render
it sufficiently their interest to y mttc attention to
these points, but cases having occurred when these qnes
tions have been neglected by Tnilway cotnpas, the
committee IL OF opinion that tho Board OF Trade should
be invested with the fullest powers TO investigate and
port to Parliament upon any accidents which may occur
railways.
The committee is Of opinion that rate Of speed con-
sidcray in excess of what is considered safe, in the
opinion of the great majority of the witnesses examined
is sometimes attained many Of the lines That the
evidence taken further tends to show that such excess
i've speed has arisen not much from the average
speed required advertised by the railway time tables
as from the want Of strict punclity in the time of the
departure and arrival of the trains from each station
which leads to of speed for the purpose Of en-
deayoring to make up time lost Tho committee, inn
pressed with the many difficulties and complications con-
neced with this part of the subject and also with tho
inexpedency of relieving railway companies from the re-
sponsibity which dcyolvcs on them, Is not pre-
pared to any direct Legislative interference by
the house upon the question of the extreme speed at
which railway trains may be permitted TO travel But
the committee is of opinion that the perfect regularity
in the time of the departure fron and arrival at, each
station by the trains which would appear to be mate
ral element of safety in railway travelling, may be at
tanned by legislative interference to the extent Of enact
ing that, except under exceptional circumstances The
public should have means OF obtaining prompt and
cheap redress in the recovery of penalties ia every case Oh
want Of punctaty in the departure and arrival OF tc
train at every station thereby rendering IT Imperative
upon railway companies not to advertise q rate OF
travelling which they cannot always maintain with
undertaking punctuality The committee IL OF opn-
ion that it should be made Imperative on railway
companies to advertise sufficient time beforehand the
exact hour of departure and arrival of trains at each
station and that it should be imperative on every rail-
way company to establish means OF communication pc
tween guards and cngine-rivcrs The report concu'tes
by stating That your committee has received much evil
dencc with reference to the advsabty of enforcing
system of clegrapic communication and the utility OF
cnactng that trains should not bo despatched without
having nsccraiued by such nuncaton that tho line
was clear That your committee is not prepared to de-
fine the distance at which such telegraphc stations
should be placed but it is of opinion that recourse to
this system would be effective for the pre-
venon of railway accidents, the largest proportion OF
which arise from collisions That With respect to day
and night Signals Breaks and other precautions, your
committee is of opinion from the evidence which it has
heard that such details better left to the manage
ment of the railway boards That your committee is,
therefore, of opinion that it s incumbent the Board
of Trade to apply to Parliament for such further powers
may enable that department to carry out the above
commentators, which, in the opinion of your commit
tee, would tend greatly to diminish the number of rail
way accidents. y