The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-01-26
A HAIRS BREADTH
Escape Made by Il Carload OF
Passengers at Benwood.
THE DEADLY GRADE CROSSING
Nearly Responsible for an Awful Ac.
cidcnt-Thc Several Death Traps at
Bcnwood, and the Pressing Need FOR
Their Immediate oblitcration-A
Death n Month Is tho Appalling
Record, and Many Escapes Daily.


BY the breadth Of n hair, twenty peo-
pie escaped becoming the victims in an
awful accident at one OF the several ex-
tremely dangerous grade crossings at
Banwood yesterday morning at $50
o'clock. Almost mlraculously not
person received the least bodily injury.
The motorman at fault was discharged.
but the deadly grade crossings at Ben
wood remain. and even without the
neglect of employees the danger TO Pc
destrlans and street car. passengers Is
not done away with.
Car 80, Of the Wheeling Railway Com
pany.carried about twenty people on Its
first trip from the city to Benwood yes
terday morning, most of the passengers
being persons employed in the mills ut
Benwood. who live In Wheeling. The
car was in charge Of Conductor Foster
and the motorman was Herman Cragg.
All went well until the grade crossing
over the main tracks Of the Baltimore
d. OHIO at Schad's crossing, Benwood,
was reached. As Is well known, there
is sharp curve and n down grade be-
fore the Baltimore & Ohio's tracks ara
crossed. AS WIS customary, when the
car approached the crossing, Il was
stopped. and The conductor went ahead
onto the crossing and near the derail-
ing device which is Intended to be used
III emergencies. The car was ordered
across by the conductor, and was start
ed down the grade by the force of gray
ity which. however. was only sufficient
TO send the car partially across At this
point, the Columbus and Cincinnati eX-
press on the Baltimore & Ohio was
heard approaching, and the motorman
made frantic efforts to get his car
across. He lost his head, forgetting that
he had switched off the power A panic
cnsued, but before anybody could do
anything the express train was upon
the seemingly doomed car. On account
OF the snow and freeze, the derailer
would not work.
That an awful tragedy did not cusuc
seems nearly miraculous. The car was
struck by the train with terrific force.
the fender torn off and The car itself
thrown off the track and turned at
right angles with 1t. Providentlally. the
fragile street car rested about foo;
away from the great express train rs +;
swayed and Numbered past at the rate
of forty miles an hour Although the
passengers on the carr Wee thro."r
about indiScriminatclv. not one was in
jured IN the least, 1t was indeed
most remarkable escape
The officials Of the Wheeling Railway
ANN
dent. The motorman entered the claim
that the power was off. but it was soor
shown that the power was on all right,
but he had turned it of before going
down the grade onto the crossing, and
had failed to turn in on again. The
a'otorman was discharged
Yesterdays remarkable escape is
lesson that should not be difficult OF
understanding. and the problem it pre-
sents should not be difficult Of solution.
At BoSS's Pun and ut Schad's. in up
per BcnwoOd. there are two crossings
Of the baltimore & Ohio and the electric
road which can never be anything but
death traps 50 long as they are grade
crossings. But these are not nearly so
dangerous as the crossings of the
Moundsrilln electric line at the lower
end OF Bcnwcod. A gentleman who Is
emDloNed ut the Wheeling steel works.
and who secs the cars crbSs there MANY
times every day. Is authority for the
statement that not u day passes during
which there isn't one or more narrow
escapes on these crossings. There
should be some solution of this problem
that will give to passengers on the
electric roads II reasonable degree Of
safety when they 20 to Benwood or
Moundsville. The Inte.ligencer would
suggest that the corporations directly
interested. the two electric street car
companies. the Baltimore & Ohio COM
pany and the city Of RenwoCd, ret to-
gethcr and endcavor to devise some
plan of improvement that will oblitcr-
ate the fearful danger that is now en-
countered on these crossings. If some
thing Is not done. one of these DAYS
there will be an awful accident. with
enormous loss Of life. and the corpora
tons named. or some OF them. will nay
out more In damage suits than would be
required to put in twenty crossings
comparatively safe.
These crossings are not the only
death traps at Ecnwood. There Is the
long stretch Of tracks OF the Baltimore
& Ohio. through South Wheeling, upper
and lower Benwood, used every day by
hundreds Of mill employees. and on
which there have been twelve deaths
during the past twelve months. For
this there is apparently no relief so long
as the public insists upon using these
tracks as a public highway.