New-York tribune., 1902-02-08
No SOFT COAL AND CHANGE IN SIGNALS URGED

Albany, Feb. THE State Board of Railroad
Commissioners this afternoon handed down its
report regarding the recent disaster in the Park
ave- tunnel New-York. The report follows:
The Fourth-ave. CNew-Y city, steam rail-
ROAD tunnel (eXtending from Ninety-sixth-st TO
rtty-SXtn-stl is operated by the New-York
Cenlral ana Hudson River Railroad COMPANY
and the New York. New Haven and Hartford
railroad Company. Trains of the New-YorL
and Harlem Railroad (Which latter railroad IS
leased TO and operated by the New-York Cen
traI ana Hudson River Railroad Company also
run through it. The operation of all trains in
ana approaching it is controlled by manager
of f 5 ope5rduhg oihcer, who has complete charge
OF such operation, the tunnel and IT'S appro2ches
DDeiHs lechnlca!Iy known as The Harlem Line"
% Adr as TINS investigation develops! the tunnel
the signals therein, the roadbed and tracks are
maintained by the New-York Central and Hud-
son River Railroad Company.
On January :, 1902 at about 500 O'Clock
d. M, passenger train No. rs X of the New
@ Iork ana Harlem Railroad. ran into the rear of
passenger train No. 223 Y of the New-York
NeW-Haven and Hartford Railroad COMPANY
at a point between Fifty-sixth and Fifty-sev-
enth sts, and at the exit from the tunnel The
NeW-haNeh train consisted of engine and
seven coaches. of which the four rearmost
coacnes were inside the tunnel The New-York
anu an tlarletn train also contained seven coaches
Inc New-Haven train had stopped in obedience
10 10 a signal. and was just getting under way
The New York and Harlem train was moving
at the rate, probably, of about thirty miles an
hour when it struck the head train There Is
no rehable testimony obtainable on this point
rapidly. Responsible railroad men who were
passengers on the Harlem train give their opin-
miles hour. Seventeen passengers on the
New-Haven train were killed or died of in
1urles' and some thirty or Iore passengers were
injured No serious casualty occurred on the
New-Tork and Harlem train.
PLAN OF INVESTIGATION.
The recorded Investigation bv this hoard os
this collision consisted in the attendance OF one
or more or It's members on the sessions of the
coroner's jury and the District Attorneys spe-
Sldi inquiry ia copy or the testimony taken in
both of these hearings being made a part OF
the record IN this case); also of oral testimony
taken by the board in New-York City during
four days; this latter testimony being confined
almost entirely to the obtaining of facts and
opinions to methods of obviating dangers of
operation in the tunnel In addition t0 +base
Investigations, the board has spent almost the
whole time since the accident occurred in spe-
clal examinations OF the tunnel and its equip
ment, OF the plan and devices OF experts along
various lines. and one member of the board vis-
tied Boston and made special examination of
the operation of the so-called tripper' auto
matte safety brake device the Boston Ele-
waited Railroad. as we'll as the plan and opera
tlon or the Union Terminal Station in the same
city. Much of the information gained in these
researches proved negative, useless for relief
of this situation
The board has considered carefully the testi-
mony before IL, as we'll much information
obtained from civil and electrical engineers To-
comotive engineers and other experts who de-
clined to be examined publicly. and the general
unanimity of opinion of the various witnesses
o
as to which they respectively testified was very
marked.
The principal points of concurrence may be
stated follows:
The best method of dealing with the tunnel
itself would be to take off the roof and reopen
it, as a cut to both light and ventilation, using
bridges at the interseCting streets From the
public point of view this change is deemed i'm
practicable and intolerable.
ELECTRIC SYSTEM DESIRABLE,
Electricity is the most desirable motive power
for the tunnel as tunnel, but legislation is
necessary, not merely TO enable its use, but
also to relieve the railroad company of the pres
ent obligation that it shall use steam and steam
only.
The opera ton of the tunnel as a single signal
block would be safe in this respect as a rail-
way tunnel can be made, but it would be i'm
the daily public business within the hours when
the people who patronize the road require 1t to
he done. Nor could a timetable be arranged
and kept in operation so that three railroads
using the tunnel would each have its train at
the north end of the tunnel precisely at the
time when the schedule required it to be there
to make it's run down to the terminal at the re-
quired speed Finally under existing conditions
the light or empty trains must be got rid of
practically fast received at the depot,
either by running them out of the yard to Mott
Haven, or by storing them on the few sidings
now available. 1t would be dangerous in the
movement of these light trains across the two
main inbound tracks.
1t is not safe or advisable to light the tunnel
in the sense of making a clear illumination in
it, although this idea has been advocated with
intensity in many quarters as the solution of
the problem" II is not deemed feasible by prac-
teal men. 1t was tried in 1891 under the direc-
tion of the Railroad Commission, but the lights
were removed soon afterward upon the written
remonstrance and request of eighty-eight en-
gine men employed on the tunnel run. The
proposition is opposed to-day by locomotive en-
gineers generally, who the prime judges of
the difficulties to be overcome in running trains
through this particular tunnel
There does not appear to be any feasible way
FlSTS
civil engineers who have appeared before this
board say they regard ventilation, either by
forced draught or by suction. impra acticable
CAUSES AND RESPONSIBILITY.
With respect to the cause of and responsibility
for the collision, this board finds and therefore
declares:
First-That the engineman of the Harlem
train was inexperienced that he lacked rea-
sonable presence of mind when he had lost or
failed to see his signals, and that he unmistaka-
bly, violated the well known rule which. under
the conditions surrounding him, required him to
stop his train.
Second-That the New York Central and Hud-
son River Railroad Company grossly negIi-
gent of its obligations to the public in putting
an engineer of such limited experience and un-
ascertained capacity in charge of passenger
train, for operation through this tunnel, in what
are called the rush hours
Third-That the New-York Central and Hud-
son River Railroad Company has been negligent,
derelict and unprogressive in falling 10 take
measures to increase It's terminal facilities at
the Grand Central Station and yard by such
dimensions would reasonably keep pace with
the yearly increasing traffic necessities OF the
lines entering this station.
Fourth-That the said railroad company has
been negligent in failing to examine more close
" into the qualifications of new engineers and
lax in discipline in failing to hold engineers TO
accountability for violation OF the running rules
in this tunnel
LEGISLATION NEEDED.
The present power of this board under the
laws is not sufficient to enable the board to re-
,ko