The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-03-20
RAILROADER TALKS Of
RIO GRANDE WRECK
Double Order System, He De-
clares, Should Have Pre-
vented Disaster.

Editor Tribune:-The wreck and disas-
ter on tho Denver & Rio G-ande railroad
last Friday morning was most horrible.
The suffering and sorrow caused thereby
Is terrible and Is only realized In Its full
magnitude by those poor unfortunates
who have been called upon to bear II for
the rest OF their lives 1t is not of this
that L wish to speak. for print can never
repair this latest hcart-rerding calamity
In the first place. there was q bad
wreck, and just how many wero killed or
manned for life by the wreck proper VIII
probably never be known II was a col
lision between two trains of the same
class running in opposite directions, and
u night operator has confessed that he,
through falling asleep at his post of duty
was the cause Of it. The operator was
discharged, OF course, and after the YER
dict OF the Coroners jury. which may
possibly compel him to serve II term in
the Canon City State PRISON. he Will
leave that section of country and, in
order to make n living, he VIII change
his name and get with some other road.
That Is the only thing left Tor the poor
fellow.
Double Order System.
But there was a positive meeting order
given to both these trains, and under the
double-order system OF operating trains
which this SnUe road uses, Doth these
trains which were of the same class re-
ceived. and the dispatcher had tho o, K.
from each train crew OF the receipt of
that order, Hence both trains had the
sole right TO that particular piece Of
track under that first order. Now, then
that order was changed, which is daily
occurrence In a dispatchers office and
cannot be avoided. But how does II como
that both these trains (Which, as | said
xpIE Of he
subsequent order instead OF only one or
them2 In other words. why was one Of
these trains allowed on this particular
piece of track until the dispatcher had
moro especially when a positive meeting
point had previously been given?
O. K From Both Crews.
1t might be argued that the reason that
both trains did not have the same order
was on account OF the operator allowing
one Of the trains to pass his station with
out delivering the order. That does not
cover the case in the least. Neither train
should have been allowed TO run against
the other until the dispatcher had the
o. X from both crews. which he could
not possibly have had, even had the op-
orator not fallen asleep The wreck
proves this.
Object of the System.
The doublc-order system was inaugu-
rated for just such emergencies. such as
=
seen difficulties at small way station
beyond the control of the dispatcher for
the tine being Again. there Is no block
system to this very crooked piece Of
track and one would naturally think
that with the vast number OF trains run
ming bstwecn Florence and Pueblo such n
eystem would have been established
years ago 1t is all well enough TO place
the whole blame on .he night man at
some out-of-the-way station as railroad
ing goes
Deadly Gas Tanks.
AS to the catastrophe: In almost every
bad wreck such the above the terrible
loss of life is due solely to the explosion
of the Plntsch gas tanks. Many are there
who could have been cxtricated from this
wreck had 1t not been for this explosion
and fire. Twas the same In other terri
bic wrecks. 1t is said that this train was
electric lighted Sure But every car
nowadays is charged with Pintsch gas
for emergency purposes, II for nothing
else.
The day OF the deadly car stove has
passed. but with the passing comes the
deadly Pintsch gas Railroad men fear II
in case OF a wreck moro than anything
else 1t is a splendid light, but human
life must be protected against lis deadly
ruin whether lighted or not. In case of
had wrecks OLD RAIIROADER.