New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-10-30
WAVES OF DISASTER.
RAILROAD ACCIDENTS APPEAR TO OCCUR
IN GROUPS
rRAINMEN's sUPDRsTITIoNs-THE MIsHAPS OF
THE YEAR-THER CAUSES-NoTAbLh Dis
AsTERS-LIST OF CASUALTIES.


THE YEAR-THEIR CAUsEs-NoTABLE DIS
AsrERs-LIsr OF CASUALTIES
Old railroad men have curious superst'o"
which they give no reason for except inc o"o
which permits of no argument ITS so. IL always
happens that way" Few veteran engineers 'he'e
are who will not tell you that the rule OF 'h'ee
has quite as much to do with railroad accideh's '
1t has to do with the theory and pracuce Oh p'opo'
ton. A serious mishap TO a train inVariao'! o"u
a shiver of apprehension among the trainmen the
whole road over, for large number OF thefh are
firm in the belief that many days Will not pass
before a second and third VIII nap
pen to round out the trinity Oh "o'
dents which to their mind was foreshado"eu
I'm the first disaster. 1t is OF no use 10 iaush a'
the superstition to engineer who has run trans
at breakneck speed unseen bridges on oaiN
nahts without turning a hair, as he STANDS pre-
dieting trouble with seemingly childish rear. ne
will quote instances ancient and MODERN anu 'o
Won that when young and fireman ne hihiseii
was nm unbeliever but that by experience the tru'h
of the adage has been proved 70 hiih'
One need not be believer In TINS "a"niai
fable N recognize remarkable grouping OF rail-
road accidents To discover the cause Is so u'"ou'
that IL is perhaps best to follow the engineer anu
simply predicate 1t as pertaining 10 accluoi'''' D
asters certainly do come in company. "he'"e NC
owing to sunspots the conjunction Of the planets
% tho fact that railroad men become unnerved by
one wreck and lose their ability to guard against
others or just to mere chance may be lei. u '''e
sstroiogers and the Pythagoreans' II any 'ne'e oe
left who can find wondrous meanings In humoers
That however, accidents come in waves must DE
evident to any person who examines the record OF
serlous and fatal disasters Of this year. Perhaps
some one will Some day discover just now the
wave theory applies to this subject, put more
practical occupation just now Is 10 examine '"e
nature of the accidents and try to find their cause
and remedy in the field of every day mechanics.
MANY ACCIDENTS THIS YEAR.
s,udv of The Tribune files discovers since jan
nary l. seyenty-two railroad accidents In the United
ctatos which resulted in the death or serious injury
NJ persons on the train. This is probably nothing
like the total number. for many accidents douot-
less occur in remote regions. where only one Ut '"o
PERSONS are killed or injured, and are never re-
ported in the Eastern newspapers Nelther uoes
this number include deaths by persons being run
over at crossings or injuries TO employees eNceP'
in the case of trains being wrecked.
OF these accidents eleven occurred In January ana
ten in February. In March the NUMBER suoueih!
dropped TO TWO, and remained at the same inquire
in May. The upward wave then began again with
three in June. and rise to nine in July Inc
curve descends to five for August, but in September
swells I'D to twelve. and has kept right on for al
ready in october. with the month not yet sohe'
there are fifteen to be entered. In these accoeh's
go human lives have 1een sacrificed ana sii per-
these will never recover or how many may al
ready have died as result Of their injuries, there
Is no way to determine.
This is indeed frghtful loss Of life which IL VIII
not do to charge to the account OF the rates.
These trains were In charge Of some one VINO was
responsible for their safety. Something must De
done TO prevent the slaughter and it Is o; no use
for railroad managers to say that nothing can be
done.
Twenty-three of the accidents, nearly half OF the
number recorded. rear end collisions. OF all
disasters in the world seemingly the easiest to
be prevented. block signal system properly
equipped and faithfully followed makes such COL
lison impossible. OF course If the signals are put
ZIP purely for advertising purposes to be run py AT
the convenience Of engineers or. as was the case
near Long Island City. where sixteen persons were
killed last August are placed behind trees where
they cannot be or are operated by incompetent
and overworked men, ii is not to be expected that
entirely satisfactory results will be obtained. An
other series of disasters Is catalogued under Inc
title of head end collisions. These are generally
caused by MISUNDERSTANDING of orders. and in
such cases invariably some one is at fault. There
should be chance for msunderstanlinSs in the
running Of trains Misplaced switches are another
frequent Of trouble. though just why any
person should leave switch open for train
TO in on 10 another train Is incomprehensibie
TO the lay mind. unaccustomed to the ;,panese
juggling methods followed by railroads OF
keeping several trains dying between stations in
the expectation of catching all right somehow
In the end
A DUTY OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES.
Some railroads have a habi, OF economizng on
bridges. and the result of that economy is
evident examining the list OF the years
disasters. The ex-presdent Of one Of the
great Western railroads, speaking recently OF
the famous Ashtabula disaster md The fact that
the engineer OF the bridge rad protested when
ordered build It the plan adopted 'ha; It was
not strong enough, said: ut was that engineers
duty to have told his employers. You will build
that bridge according to plans that / AIN satisfied
will make 1t perfectly safe. or l shall leave your
road. and Ohio shall know the reason why IL
every engineer who sees things being done on rail-
roads that he knows unsafe would follow :Gat
PLAN nc could compel his IDEAS to be followed and
public opinion would uphold him N mis- course "
This is undoubtedly true. Too many employees
do things against their judgment rather than brave
the managers passion for economy.
Accidents from the breaking OF rails and similar
causes are more difficult to prevent, such flaws
are hard to discover though it is done with good
success in England. In this country, however. the
great mileage and the comparatively small traffic
for the length of roads make the expense of
keeping up roadbeds and track as Is done in Eng
land utterly out of the question for most roads
at the rates charged for freight and passengers
The price OF safety in this particular is the pock-
etbook of the people. a thousand mile road. with
little traffic and running at a loss. cannot be
pected to be IN good repair hundred mile
one, crowded with business and making good
profit
The Worlds Fair traffic has been the Of
numerous accidents this year. The conclusion be
drawn from them is that the railroads have been
trying 20 do exceptional business without ade-
puate preparation. m employees have
been overworked to handle the traffic. In others
low-prlccd and incompetent men have been hired.
while IN still others inferior and out rolling
stock has been pressed into service. 1t is a curious
fact that some OF the roads with the best equip
ment and reputation have had the mos. trouble
In this respect which seems to point TO the concn
sion that double tracks and other equipments have
been relied sometimes to the neglect OF ind-
vidusl carefulness. On the other hand the Erie
line. which is for the most part track west
OF Salamanca. though having an exceedingly heavy