Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-10-03
THOSE REAR-END COLLISIONS.

Too many rear-end collisions are oc-
curing on the railroads for the public
good. In the last two weeks three
serious accidents, two of them " it'll
fatal results have occurred near this
city on the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road. 1t would seem that there is
something wrong with the present
mode of guarding the lives of the pas
sengers and the goods entrusted to
the care of the railroad companies.
Rear-end accidents on the railroad al
ways horrify the people and even. old
travellers shudder at times when they
think that some accident may befall
them, or their dear ones, while trains
are rushing along at breakneck speed
in the darkness. In the two recent
accidents some one was certainly to
blame. The wreck more than a week
ago was caused by the negligence of a
fiagman who failed to return and sig.
nal the passenger train which was fol-
lowing freIghied with human lives !;
fortunately it was daylight and the
passenger engineer stopped in time to
save the passengers, but the engine
and several cars of the freight train
were DdQly wrecked.
In the accident Sunday fog is attri-
buted to the cause of the collision,
The work of Nature is made to bear
the brunt of the human sacrifice while
those morally responsible are allowed
to smooth the affair over and go free.
Had flagmen been sent out the wreck
might have been averted and two
lives spared to the sorrowing widow
and babies who are left to fight the
worlds battles as best they can unsup.
ported and alone, mayhap dependent
on the charity of the neighbors for the
bread they eat. All this horror could be
prevented and time and money saved
to the railroad companies, if proper
precautions were taken to prevent
these accidents. In almost every
case on record it has been shown that
the engineer in charge of the rear
train had done all in his power to pre-
vent the accident and had often gone
down in the wreck martyr to his
duty. There should be some way to
obviate repetition ofthese accidents.
Too many trains are run on one track
for any good to the travelling pub
lie. The crowding of single track
sections of the railroads is too often
done.
In almost every instance the rear
train has been running at high rate
of speed and was too close to the train
ahead to stop in time. The trouble
does not seem to be in the protection
or lack of protection to the rear of the
train. 1t seems to be in the imper-
feet system of too many trains on the
same section. Block signals should
be erected all along the roads or the
track should be patrolled and. one
train should not be allowed to enter
the block until the preceding one had
gone out, This would obYiate con-
siderable trouble and loss of life and
less loss to the corporations who seem
to save money in one way and spend
it in another. The travelling public
should demand to be protected when
they place their lives and property in
the hands Of railroad company.
They should legislate for protection
from the evils that be and insist that
their rights be respected in every
particular, and that their life and |
limb be not put in jeopardy by the |
of railroad employees
whose exciting and dangerous life at
times make them lax in their atten.
ton TO duty Cumberland NetcS.