Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-03-03
The History of Railroad Accidents.

lFfUW CHustfS fTustcaS adams, Jr.'S Lecture
1t might sound brutal to say So but in fe "
date benefit TO the world as in railroad acct
dents. The whole world Travelled thence
forth more safely for every life lost New
appliances, new precautions, severer disci-
pine followed every accident. During the
first eleven years of railroad experience, al
most no disastrous accidents occurred. The
first terrible one was on the Versailles road
In France, in May, 1912, when an engine
broke down while running at speed, and it's
cars piled up on top of it. The doors OF the
cars were locked, they took fire, and fifty
three persons were crushed or burned TO
death and many injured. The lecturer gave
other instances of like character, and shove.
how recent Improvements in car cOnstruc-
tion obviated the danger of such accidents.
In New England there have been three ter
rfble railroad accidents-that at the Norwalk
draw bridge in May, 1853; that ct Valley
rails, Il. l., Oh August II, 1855, and that at
Revere station in August, 1871. Each of these
was taken up described and analysed, and
illustrated by the experience of many other
accidents of like character elsewhere. All of
them were preventible, and there could be no
excuse for their recurrence. The various APP
pllances which had been adopted in conse-
quence of these accidents were referred to-
and the opinion was expressed that the Re-
we're disaster had reduced the dangers iuci-
dent TO railroad travelling i'm Massachusetts
by one-half 1t had brought the train-brak Ike
and the MILLER" platform into general use
III had caused the increased adoption of run
hing ,s1gaais and greatly improved discipline.
Inc lecturer then passed to accidents which
had not happened. Since the Revere acci-
dent one hundred and twenty millions OF
passengers had been carried by railroads
within the limits of Massachusetts. How
many OF these had been killed by faults of
the railroad companies and by accidents
over which the passenger himself had no
control? Just one. This statement applied
only TO passengers exercising due care; In all
ways connected with the operation of rail-
roads about three hundred peoples year were
killed or injured i'm the state Another oues-
ton: What is the length in Massachusetts of
the average railroad journey resulting in
Ceatn! Inc answer sounds absurd: il is three
hundred and twenty-four millions of miles,
Ihat is, on an average, twenty-five million
persons travel fifteen miles each before any
one OF them is killed by railroad accident.
so Inc average journey resulting i'm injury is
twenty million miles. II a person trav-
eled as passenger on Massachusetts, rail-
roads eight hundred miles q day, every day of
his life, he would, by doctrine of chances,
De 40 years Old before he would receive an in
jury In railroad accident. French Stats
ties showed that sta ge-coach travelling was
at least fifty times as dangerous as travelling
by rail. The danger of being murdered in
massachusetts was greater by far than that
OF being killed in a railroad accident In
1873, the railroads carried 42,c00. 900 passen-
gers without killing one; in the same year in
Boston alone five persons were killed by tum-
ping down stairs, seven by falling out of
windows. With 20 900 miles of track full of
curves, culverts and bridges with safety de-
pending on everything, from the state of the
atmosphere to the strength OF the rail-with
Trans moving In every direction. at all
times-accidents must happen since the
managers OF railroads are hunan. That they
should happen so rarely is the true cause ior
wonder. There is no more wonderful human
achievement than the combinations of speed
and safety with which the movement of
modern civilization is maintained through
the unceaSlng exercise Ofhuman care human
sklll, and human foresight.