Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-10-26
-AFETY ON FLYING TRAINS.
Reasons Why the Fastest Travelling Ones
Arc the Most Secure.

Reasons Why the Fastest Travelling Ones
Arc the Most Secure.
The National Carand Locomotive Builder
says about the first thought that suggests
itself to a person about to take a railroad
journey is, in these days of frequent acct
dents, Where is the safest place on the
train? Extremes are generally obiectiona-
Bile, and so, as place of safety, are either
the extreme rear or forward parts of pas
senger train. In case of head collision
the engine and forward cars have to furnish
the means for absorbing the moving energy
of the train, and this energy is usually so
great that one or more cars are wrecked be-
fore it's force is spent. In the case of a rear
collision the rear cars must furnish the
means of absorbing large portion of the
moving energy of the striking train.
Perhaps fully half of this force is spent
In wreckipg the striking train, and con-
siderable portion of the force of the blow is
spent in knocking the standing train for
ward. The balance of this force is spent in
COMPRISING the springs of the draft appli-
ances on both trains and in wrecking the
rear part of the train that is struck. There
fore it is plain that in case of head or rear
COlllSlOuS Jut lTOuO VI rear DdTIS Vi VIC
train, as the case may be, are dangerous
places, and the front more so than the rear,
for the reason stated, and for the further
reason that the forward cars of passenger
train are usually lighter and less strongly
built than the heavy parlor or sleeping cars
that usually make up the rear of the train.
The blow of a head collision will do more
damage to the forward cars of a train than
acolliding blow of equal force will to the
rear cars of the train as ordinarily arranged.
For this reason the very best form of in
surance for travellers is parlor or sleeping
car ticket, although the rear car of tho
train, even if of the strongest construction,
may be destroyed in rear collision.
The belief is becoming quite common
that the safety of passengers is not jeopar-
died very much by the higher train speeds
that are now attained. There are good
reasons for the belief. 1t is probable that
the fastest train on a railroad is the safest
to ride on. OF course the higher the speed
at which train runs the greater is its po-
tentiality of self destruction, but as such
can result only from accident safety is
really enhanced by the higher speed because
accident is more zealously guarded against
on the fast than the slow train, and tho
probability of it's occurrence therefore is
largely decreased. The cars of the fast
trains on our railroads and the engines
that haul them are perhaps more carefully
inspected and are certainly more carefully
maintained in the safest and most perfect
running order than are the cars and engines
of slower and what are considered less i'm.
portant trains.
The most competent and reliable en-
ployees are generally selected to operate
the fast trains, and perhaps the chief ele-
ment of the safety of these trains lies in
the fact that not only the men who operate
them, but all the employees connected
with the train service on the division OF
the road on which the fast train is rum
ming, are on Vhe qui vive respecting its
safe and successful passage Interference
with it in any way is sure to get the en-
ployee at fault into trouble, and the
knowledge of this inspires all who have
to do with the movement of trains with
unusual alertness in regard to the special.
ly fast train.
Each of these influences is a safeguard