Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1899-10-19
Fifty Collisions Daily.

Fifty railroad collisions day are to
be witnessed free on the outskirts of
Detroit, Mich, with most thrilling ac-
compartments of crash, smash and
wholesale destructiveness of every
thing except life. There is a charm
about pulling down that building up
never possesses to the human race, and
so it is not to be wondered at that the
spectacle of whole trains of railroad
cars being sent whizzing down a rail-
road line to meet in roaring crash at
the place of demolition, and after a
life-and-death struggle sink one above
the other in spIintered and demora-
lized heap, has attracted crowds of
spectators to the scene of this curious
free entertainment.
The work of demolishing these ears
by sending them smashing together Is
being carried on by the American Car
and Foundry Company's Michigan
branch. The company recently re-
ceived $4,000 cars from the Lehigh
Valley Railroad as part of a contract
with that line. The cars were out
of date and could not be used again,
and the only really valuable portions
of them were the iron works, aXles,
wheels and other sections Of the metal
parts. The problem that presented
itself was how to separate these parts
from the woodwork without the work
costing too much for the profit ln-
volved.
In no other country in the world
but America, it is safe to say, could
such a solution of the problem have
been found as that of making kindling
woods of the cars by means Of colls-
ions. The company well knew the
result of trains of cars coming together
from opposite directions at express
speed. Why not construct collision
railroad and let the cars destroy them
selves?
It was a brilliant idea and has been
effectively carried out. The road was
built with a steep declivity on either
side of the hollow at the centre, the
cars were gotten in their merry race
to destruction. 1t provided a sPecta-
Gle that could not be equaled in inter-
est by any scenic show in the world.
Every afternoon the free show goes
on. At night the remains ale crema-
ted. A bonfire is built under the
ruins of what was once good rolling
stock, and by the morning all that is
required is for the workmen TO rake
over the ashes for the ironwork that
has stood the fire.
The excitement among the crowds
that gather to witness the daily COLI
sions grows with every repetition OF
the spectacle. The first two trains
crash together, piling the ruins in
heap, and this heap provides an addi-
tional obstacle for the next lot of cars
to vent their fury upon. The second
grand collision is far superior to the
first. The engines start the cars oil
with great push, and as they whizz
down the inclined railroad they gather
speed, until thousands Of feet Of iron
and metal are whirling along in opPo-
site directions at a speed Of 80 miles
an hour. Meeting at this pace the
shock is simply terrific. The first cars
are ground to splinters, sent whirling
into the air, to fall back in unrecOg-
nizable shapelessness on to the pile.
The following cars are telescoped, fat
tened out, torn to pieces in the wild
crash of the collision, cent climbing
one over the other, locked in a deadly
embrace that ends at the top OF the
wreckage.
Scarcely has the quiyering mass OF
wood and iron settled down in its last
pose before the whole heap is driven
into itself once more, banged and bat
tered, splintered smaller, smashed fat
ter and broken into half dozen pieces
where it was only broken into one be-
fore by another whirliDg tangle cent
with the force Of ten thousand batter
ing rams into the shaking pile.
Then more and more cars, each col
lision exceeding in spectacular excite
ment the previous one because OF the
constantly increasing size Of the immo-
vable force that meets the almost ir-
resistible one. The spectators shriek
with pent-up excitement as the cars
ale seen approaching the pile.
The spectators cheer them on in their
mad career as though they were living
combatants and yell themselves hOarss
when the impact comes and the air is
filed with the crash Of contending
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