The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-01-04
DcwHArWAsT THE CAUSE:
The pbiI.delphia Times, commenting


on the recent railroad disaster, says;
Looking 1T the Ashtsbuls calamity IN
the light which other disasters may shed
upon it, the questions to be asked are:
What was the cause? Who was TO blame?
Could this sacrifice of lie have been
averted? How can the repetition OF such
occurrences be avoided? Until the iacts
have been fully developed BY Inquest 1t
will, of course, be premature to say where
lies the responsibility. 1t is to be taken
for granted that the local authorities Will
not assume tina: the local authorities VIII
not assume the calamity, which we
call accident, was attributable 10
agencies over which man has no
contro!. There are certain lines Of
INQUIRY which would seem particularly
pertinent in the general direction just
indie tied. II does not appear that IN
this case, Nc in some Of those cited above,
there was dis, egard of the rule, so often
disregaried, that the rate OF speed shall
Be diminished on approaching bridge.
A broken rail, which so frequently makes
it appearance at the worst place, may
have been the cause; one OF the cars may
have jumped the rail and carried
the others with it; the iron of the bridge
NAV have been unduly affected by
the extreme Id; or it is not unlikely
that the bridge was broken down by hard
usage, notwithstanding its short life, and
simply gave way when tie last straw
was land upon its back. The whole CUES
ton of the comparative strength and
durability of iron bridges is likely to be
reopened by the investigation. There are
eminent engineers who contend that
wrought iron bridges cannot possibly
have long lease of life. Strange
rs it may appear there are some who
hold shat cast iron has been found to re.
sst constant strain where the fibre OF
the wrought-iron which has become
brittle and crystalline from vibration
has succumbed. That iron bridges are
superior to wooden bridges, however, few
will deny ia this day. The real questions
~ issue in this connection would seem To
la what kind and what form OF iron Is
preferable, and how long any iron bridge
NAV be considered trustworthy. The
necessity for frequent inspection is
clearly taught, and the alleged inutility
of patchwork repairing, instead of COM
plete oyerhauliDg when break occurs,
is again open for discussion. Only by
such practical experience are such points
TO be settled.
One lesson of the disaster, however, is
apparent without further investigation,
and that is he inhumanity-we had al
most said cr!minslity-ol the present
system OF heating railway CARS. In cold
weather fire nearly always claims US its
prey the living that the broken rail or the
:;,lling bridge OF the defective wheel has
eft. The ovcrturning OF red-hos stove
i enough to envelOp the who car, yes,
the whole train, in flames, and the pas
,rngers wedged between the timbers
hopelessy face death accompanied by
agonies that are torture itself.
When will the railway COM
panies adopt 8 mode of heating
That will do away with the stoves? Why
cannot the principle of the air brake be
applied to heating apparatus These
are questions that ought to be answered
by new inventions if not by those al
ready in the field and statutes that shall
make it penal offence to heat car
with a stove. We would not join in the
unreasonable criticism aud indiscrimin
ate abuse heaped upon railway managers
IN view of such calamity Ms this, bu. it
i. due to the travelling public as well as
10 them that no pains should be spared
10 gather and enforce the lessons If these
disasters.