New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-08
THE VEST SHORE ACCIDENT.

THE accident on the West Shore Railroad
near Syracuse, by which thirteen passengers
were either killed outright or so badly injured
that they soon died. is clearly traceable to the
NEGLECT of two tyanmen. freight train, not
mining on schedule, broke in two Just before
II was switched to let the st. Louis Limited
mass. The freight engineer at once blew the
signal for fagman TO 90 back and give warn
ing. He had drawn the head cars on the switch
and was preparing to fetch the others when
the Limited came along and crashed into tho
caboose and two empty box-cars. The accl-
dent happened at , in the morning in thick
foo The conductor of the Limited says he
heard his own engineer answer the flag signal,
bnt IL he did il must have been too late. The
freight conductor, apparently mindful OF his de-
lpnnencv. has disappeared and so has the flag
man. The rules of the road prescribe that in
such cases danger signals shall be promptly eX-
tended and torpedoes placed along the track
In this instance torpedoeS were evidently not
used at all.
While the catastrophe reveals anew the care
lessness of train-hands which is just now
causing an endemic of collisions and deIailings,
IL bv no means tends to increase confidence IN
is laid on the fact that this freight train was
mscheduled. But everybody familiar with the
business knows that these unchecked royers OF
the iron way, where the block system Is not
used. are responsible for an undue proportion
Of the annual loss of life. In the sudden fuc-
tuations of traffic it is perhaps impossible to
min every train down to a settled time table.
But if the engineer of the West Shore Limited
had had proper notice that freight train was
directly preceding him he would have watched
more carefully for the least mtoward indica-
ton. Moreover, even before President liar-
rison called public attention to the subject
freight couplings were VIGOROUSLY unsafe. Had
automatic couplers been applied in this case the
cars would doubtless not have broken loose.
But the most impressive feature Of the acct
dent was the utter absence OF adequate tools
for extricating those imprisoned in the wreck.
One survivor, who was sitting in the Limited
smoking car before the crash, says that In an
instant he was up TO the neck in debris, and
another declares that the car was such rain
il seemed hopeless for any to escape. All agree
that an axe and two crowbars were the only
implements available for cutting away The heavy
timbers when fire from the engine threatened
to burn those they held down. The abolition
of the " deadly car-stove' has clearly not re-
moved all danger from lire. In the recent
terrible disaster at St. Mande, in France, the
wrecked train was similarly ignited On the
West Shore no laundering iiremen were at hand
to drown helpless victims, although the Pull
man porters are said to have stood idly by.
There seems no reason, though, why every
passenger-car's equipment throughout the coun-
try should not be made to include saws and
axes if not hand fire-extnguSher. They
would materially help to avert many scene
of horror and would often prevent loss of life