Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-11-23
HOW RAILROAD ACCIDENTS
ARE SOMETIMES AvESTED

u iact not generally known ths,
on some OF the leading English r,,
ways there is a system OF awardln, !,
slgnallnen annual bonuses Of ynrylns
amounts-from $40 to S25--aocordln, ~
the Importance Of the boxes OF ohlcn
the recipients have charge These bo
muses. are Of course, quite additional n
the mems wages, and they are intended
to encourage the men to exercise con
ton and Vigilance IN the pcrfonnnnoo
Of their duties. Each mans record ror
Tue year Is examined before mo bo
muses. are awarded, and any case ~
neglect or serious oversight that NAV
have occurred leads to the reduction or
total nonallowance Of the bonus f,s
the year, w.
Special rewards are also occagIonolI,,
given to signalmen and others for an.
splcuous vigilance Or prompttude IN
preventing accidents II Will readlh
be understood chat in cases, saw If
sudden blockage Of lines on whlpl,
trains ere approaching, instant promni.
ltude on the part OF the men on ho
spot makes all the difference betwoe,
safety aud disaster. There Is no tims
for the men to think or refer 10 their
rules for guidance. They must know
lntuitiyely what is the right thing 10
do and do II on the instant.
Asudden fall OF rock occurred ot ,ho
sonth end Of q tunnel near London
some years ago, completely blockmr
the ire, Just as an express train Ina
boon slgnslsa frow the north end of
The tunnel The sisn lhian at 'he south
end instantly gave the stop approach.
lng train" slgnal to the man at Tho
north end, and the latter Just as promnt.
~ threw his signals to danger and held
out his rod flag to stop the express
which by that time was within few
yards OF the entrance to the tunnel
The slgnalmen who had acted SO
promptly were commended by the al.
reotors and substantially rewarded
A freight train travelling ON the M
line through country station wag
passing the signal box when the signal.
man saw that the line was being foul.
ed by an engine which had been shunt.
Ing on the down line and which was IN
the act Of crossing to the up line with.
out the slgnalman's authority There
was no time to stop the freight train
but the slgnalman Immediately turned
his switches and diverted il on TO q
side track and so prevented q collision
He received the thanks Of the directors,
accompanied by a no less welcome re-
ward In cash.
In another case while freight
train was sEunting into siding an
empty car ran oil the rails, turned com.
pletely over and blocked the opposite
line, on which passenger train was
approaching The slgnalman witness.
ed the mlshap and instantly put his
signals to danger, and the driver Of the
passenger train at once shut off steam
and applied his brake, being helped in
The stopping of the train by the guard,
who had been on the lookout and had
seen the signals suddenly 80 up The
watchfulness and prompt action Of the
three men prevented a terrible disas-
ter and they We're each warmly com.
mended and substantially rewarded
passenger train started from one
Of the largest stations in the country
and was entering The tunnel just north
Of the station when the driver Of an In.
coming train made signs indicating
that there was an obstruction In the
tunnel The driver of the outgoing
train acted on the signals and stopped
the train Just clear of an engine which
was standing In the tunnel and which
had been forgotten by the signalman
The signalman was dismissed the two
drivers were commended by the d..
rectors, and the one in charge Of the
incoming train was also rewarded by a
money grant.
An, engine at another station placed
six loaded coal cars In siding and
then ran light to the next station, about
mile and a half away, Unfortunate
ly proper steps had not been taken to
secure the cars, and they began to run
back toward the main line unnotlced
Gaining speed, they passed over the
switches and were soon careering away
after the engine, Half mile away
three plate layers working on the line
saw what was happening and while
one OF the men ran back to stop any
approaching train the other two, at
oonois1nro hla rich IN thoucnlvpe ran
alongside the cars, pinned down the
brakes and brought the runaways to a
stand. A suitable reward was prompt
~ voted to each man,