Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-22
DANGEROUS TRACKS
THE LEXINGTON FREIGHT YARD
A MENACE TO LIFE.
Virtually Unprotected Stubs" That
Have Caused Several Bad
Blockades

Residents of lexington and other patrons
of the Maryland division of the City and
Suburban street railway system have been
seriously exercised for several months be-
cause of the danger to which the cars on
ttat line are exposed In their passage
through the street known as Lexington
place, between Florida avenue and r
street. On the east side Of the electric car
tracks on this stretch are the new freight
yards OF the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
comprising at present upward of a score
OF tracks branching from the main stem of
the metropolitan branch and making per-
pendicularly for lexington place. About
Twelve OF these tracks are in constant use
TINS point being the main freight delivery
station of the Baltimore and Ohio They
are what Is known as stub tracks," and
are supposedly protected by bumpers at
the western end. These bumpers are of a.
patent variety, consisting of an upright
post or wood about eighteen inches square
set In the ground and supposedly braced
by the rise of the track rails at an angle
from the plane of the roadbed. From the
beginning of their installation they have
proved Enthusiastically, and during the
past SIX or eight months they have been
repeatedly broken by being struck by cars
in the process of being switched upon these
tracks.
A Building Smashed.
In September a freight train was sent in
upon one OF the tracks so sharply that the
bumper was snapped off and the train
plunged across the street. The rear car
or the train was thrust into the corner of
the United States army uuartermaster,s
warehouse, which was erected a few
months ago on the west side of Ecking-
ton place. The entire corner of the build
ing was torn out. The runaway train
crashed across the street about fifteen
seconds after a street packed with
people had passed northward The acct
dent happened after IL o'clock at night
when the cars were running heavily loaded
with patrons of the theaters. Had the
train struck the street car it is probable
that dozens of people would have been
killed and many others wounded.
Since then the bumpers have been snap
ped off at such frequent intervals that
the users of the car line have fallen into
the habit of watching in the morning to
see which of the posts had suffered in the
night, when much of the switching is DONE
On several occasions the freight cars have
been forced into the street part way to the
electric car tracks, and once train was
fortunately turned by accident so that sew
eral of the cars were thrust down the street
parallel to the tracks in lexington place
A Blockade Yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon, just before 5 o'clock,
one of the bumpers gave way under the
strain of particularly severe jolt, and two
freight cars were sent far across the
street as to block the street car traffic COM
pletely for nearly an hour. A loaded cleo
trio car had passed only about two min
utes previously. This accident seriously
inconvenienced the traffic, it being neces-
sary to switch the electric cars back to the
city and to run "shuttles" between the
scene of the accident and the plough pit in
lexington to transfer the hundreds of pas
sengers of the rush hour"
Apart from the imminent danger of
appalling accident the occasional block
AIDES of the electric road form serious in
convenience. The patrons of the line feel
that they not assured at any time of a
free track between the city and the sub
urbs, and are always apprehensive of
fatal collision in lexington place. The
matter is now being earnestly discussed by
the residents of lexington as warranting
an immediate demand upon the Commits
sioners for action which will permanently
cure the evils which arise from the virtual
ly unprotected condition of this stretch of
street.