The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-18
ON SHORE.
Trucks of the Car
Pulled From Mud.
NOTHING BROKEN.
Theory Of Defective Rails
Still Holds Good.

Still Holds Good.
/ 3Iillbury. March 1.-THE wreck OF
trolley car So was pulled out Of the
Blackstone river and landed high and
| dry on shore today. A careful exam
ination Of wheels. brakes and truck
failed to show anything wrong or throw
further light upon the cause Of the ac-
| cioent None Of the hanges. brake
shoes or hammer rods appeared broken.
] The fanges appeared slightly worn. but
no more 50 than common. II will re-
qutre most delicate measurement to
determine whether or not they were
! worn sufficiently to leave the track.
4 IN the absence Of direct and indisput-
aple evidence as 70 the cause Of the ac-
cicent, The Spy's explanation was ac-
( cspted as the most plausible solution
I Derallu.ents are Of almost weekly oo-
/ currence in Millbury. and as q general
! thinS- people attribute the cause SOLELY
I TO the narrow trucks which form full
I cfum for the o TO teeter or The
tocKlhg motion is increased by the
!
( The facts Of the accident which can
NOT pc disputed are these:
The car was running at q high rate
1 OF speed.
1t was equipped with the narrow
/ truck
| The condition Of the track al the
| point Of deraiiment was bad. It was
I IIis junction CT girder rails and IT rails.
1 ne Falis were slightly depressed there
- f4f
Oh the track. may have increased the
rocking motion which takes place al
thai point. even when the car IS nm
ming at glow speed.
The accident doubtless was due TO a
combination Of some or all OF these
causes
here was another derailuent in
S1iAoury yesterday. The rails spresd
az burns. Corner. and & car ran of me
uscA 1ae next car that came along
Was cautioned TO go at slow speed h,,f
-liis also slipped the rails. The traffic
was suspended at that point till Track
master AcFherson and his gang could
sieFate and relay the track for a dis
lance Of 100 yards. Passengers were.
loIcsd TO change cars at this point
another "
The accident is unimportant but
nlKhiy significant as indicating the cor
q y OF the track through MilIburv
- y said that there were three derail-|
-!-fhes IN or near the town Of STi1lhllr,-
As week before the accident.
w A Brown Of Worcester the cleo
4lclah who wired the Blackstone Val
les cars, nclds views similar to those
advanced by The Spy as 10 the cause
u ne accident Mr.. Brown is an au-
shorlty on street railroads He was
~ ~ l I win the West Erd Railroad
o. Boston, and has held MANY respou-
slole positions with various roads.
have not seen the rails in cues
tloh, said Mr. Brown, but If two
)cints are laid directly opposite. it is
a violation of all the rules Of railroad
ihs- 1t is not necessary tn have the
JOINTS come that way even il a change
u MADE from one kind OF rail TO an
ether, II the rules OF railroad con-
structlon have been changed lately. 1
know nothing about II.
II the distance between rails is as
Tar apart as described, that is another
evidence Of faulty construction. Rails
should be laid so as to just touch when
expanded by the heat in nidsun7r7er
In winter they should be- contra +ed
not more than half an inch. An inch
ana q naIf gap lie too much ANY car
VIII tip and teeter when IL strikes a
bad rail I should think It would do
SO on the rail mentioned
Mr.. Brown considers the short truck
unsafe He was working in Boston
When electric cars were FIRST intro
duced. The company he worked with
maoe the experiment OF placing carE
on the old horse car trucks but were
forced by many accidents to change
to the long truck. He has known CON
ductors TO ask passengers to move 10
the forward end to keep the front
wheels on the track
He also says worn fianges cause
many derailments. He has known
| many TO be worn down so as to be
wider than the track. An accident is
the result. The fact that no other car
| goes off the track at a certain place,
proves nothing. He has known every
| car on line to pass q given place
without accident, while one particular
| car always slipped the irons at that
| spot.
The wrecking gang worked all day
| pulling car So up the steep bank and
! down the street to the car track. Late
at night it was placed on the track and
| conveyed to the barns. where it will
be safe from relic hunters. The me-
! chanics will there be able to inspect
| the machinery at their leisure
There seems to have always been
| hocdoo connected with car So 1t tran
/ spires that it was the car which fig
1 urea III Il rear emo CoiDSl0n with an
other car in the woods near Millbury
! some time ago. The accident was oc-
casioned oy something being out of
( order with the reverse brake which
| had just the opposite effect from that
| desired. The defect was repaired some
time ago. and even if it had existed
would not have caused a catastrophe
like that Of Wednesday night
Superintendent German and Assist
ant superintendent Blackngton have
announced their intention Of attend
| ing the funeral Of Fred White in Whit
insville tomorrow Saturday The fu-
neral of Morris Walsh will be held
| in St Bridget's Church at a. m
! The majority of the people Of Mill
bury We're upon the scene of the acct
dent this morning, and all watched
out the wreckage. State Inspector
the real cause CT the accident would
never be known
The insurance inspector is still at
work trying TO ascertain the probable
cause. and II he has formed an opinion
he keeps it to himself. One fact is GER
tain. and that IS that the commission
is satisfied with the condition of the
rails. Today both men rode 10 the
city in a car and watched the way that
the cars We're usually run, and what
notch the power was on when switches
were reached.
The track was also examined with
the keenest Of interest. and the state
inspector never took his eyes off the
track from the time he left the car
harm 1lnti he reached tha ai+, sCta