Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-05-12
RAILWAY CASUAL TIES.

A Comparison Betwsen America aud other
Countries the Effert of Grade Crossings
In Connection with AcoidcntB--Ths Small
Number of Fatalities tn Great Britain.
Mr. Franklin b. Locke contributes
an article TO the May Century on
Railway Crossings 10 Europe and
America, the paper being fully illus.
trated:
With the casualties that ore properly
classified as due to grade -cro6si ngs are
generally included accidents to tres
passerH--that is, to persons who attempt
to cross or walk at grade upon the lines
bstween tine prescribed crossings. This
class of accidents forms large factor
in the sum total Of deaths and Injuries,
and great care is taken by the foreign
companies to protect the public in this
particular. Fully one third Of all the
accidents to persons on the English
roads belong to this class: and while it
is generally regarded that these acct
dents arc the result OF carelessness On
the part Of thnse who take the risks of
entering upun the lines, il Ia neverthe.
ess noticeable that no reasunable pre-.
cautions are neglected, In America, as
n whole, scarcely any provision ia made
for preventing this class of accidents.
In tho State of Maeaach gaetts alone
there are about half MS many deaths
from this cause as in the whole OF
Great Britain and Ireland: and during
the last ID years nearly one half of all
the fatalities upon tho railways in that
State have been Of this class. BY
averaging the fatalities occurring 10
Great Britain and Germany, and com
parIug with the average for Massa,
chusetts and Connecticut, the proper,
tion 10 about Rs seven to one 10 favor of
the foreign countrie8 Certain classes
Of accidents are now almost unknown
10 Germany. Accidents to pedestrians
! at road crnssings, or tn passengers from
crossing the tracks at a,ations, are
hardly possible at the present time.
Any one Attempting tn walk upon tina
track is surs. to tie stopped, ami very
severe penaltios are imposed for any
| defiance of the orders Of an empoye.
| In this connection, few broad COM
PARSONS are very significant. In the
city of Buffalo, for instance. il was re-
ported, a fow years ago, that 81 fatal.
| ties occurred at gratie. crossings in lS
months, being two mois than the
number reported for the whole of Ger
many for the previous fivs years. again,
in the renort OF the Terminal Com
mission to tho Mayor ana Common
Council Of Chicago, il was stated that
over 200 people lost their lives at the
| grade crossings 10 that city in 1891.
This is nearly az many fatalities M
occurred in the whole of Great Britain
and ireland from the same cause during
the succeeding i've years. These figures
seem to indicate that these two cities
afford frUm three to five times as many
fatalities Of this class as the whole of
Great Britain and Ireland and Germany
com bined.
Generally speaking the Objections to
grade crossings were clearly foressen in
England and the rsmedies were applied
in the cities when the railways we're
established. 10 the country districts
there are still considerable number of
grade crossings. They are by no means
SO nun. erous, however, as on the con.
tlnental linss Under the reg 1lRtion of
Railway Acts, 1868 and 1871, a penalty
of 40 ahillings ia provided for the
offence OF entering or being upon a
railway, except for the purpose of
crossing the same at sumo authorized
crossing 1t is proviuod, however, that
the offending party shall first have
been warned by the agents Of the com
pany. This latter fact somewhat reduces
the efficiency Of the regulation, az it is
often difficult TO give satisfactory prouf
Of warning.
The Board of Trade havs made regu-
lations and recommendations as tn tho
arrangements at stations, and regarding
the protection Of grade crossings where
they exist, Platforms are 10 he not
less than three feet above rail-levei,
except in raro instances Each paa-
senger track is to have it's separate
platform, and stress is laid upon the
principle that passengers should tind it
difficult and always unnecessary, to
descend upon the tracks. The character
OF gates, and tho manner of operating
them, are prescribe. Private road.
crossings are nso provided with gates
and unde. the law of 1915 a penalty IL
provided for persons who neglect TO
close them after passing through and
parsons using them enter upon tie
track at their avn risk. The com.
psrative freedom from accidents OF all
classes on the English roads ia due to
much investigation by parliamentary
commissions, many of the reports by
| pTATE uncDlTM TpIloTCco