Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-16
Accidents That
Beset a Street Car

toner that it was a stupendous under
taking.
But that is not all. Several distinct
varieties of trouble are still possible On
the monthly list above mentioned the
troubles are first divided into general
heads, under each of which is enumer-
ated the number of troubles specific to
that particular head. 1t is only neces-
sary to give the general headings TO I'M
derstand the scope ii is possible to cover.
Several things can happen to the trolley,
circuit. fuse box. control. cable, motor.
truck. brake, the body Of the car and
the fender. Some of these troubles are
strictly technical and consequently not
interesting to the Iayman, but some there
are that can be understood.
Not the least common cause of tie-up
is the derailment of car. This usually
occurs result of faulty switch and
too rapid turning OF a corner. The re-
suit is not particularly serious, as the
next car coming along will probably have
a rope handy and will pull the derailed
back into place, after which the
service goes on again.
Then there are two varieties Of trouble
which can be caused directly by boys.
The first of these is a short circuit
This is caused by dropping some metal
down through the slot where il comes
in contact with both the conductor bars.
thus conducting the current from one
conductor bar to the other through the
medium of the metal and not through
the pillow into the car. as should be done.
This metal which has been dropped into
the slot has to be removed before traffic
can be resumed. The current may be
so strong that 1t will burn the metal
in half. or, again, the conductor bar itself
may become damaged. History has it
that in certain suburban districts of
Washington when car lines were new
boys would bring this state of affairs
about purposely for no other reason than
a desire to see the emergency wagon
come out. Finally they got used to that
kind of excitement and discontinued their
efforts in that direction.
The other trouble caused by boys does
not happen outside of the city proper,
but very often in the heart of the bust
ness section itself, especially in the
vicinity OF American League Park. The
trouble Is the breaking of an axle, and
one cause Is jumping up and down on
one end of the car. This. from observa-
ton. is favorite pastime of victorious
parties Of youths, whether their victory
of the other things in which boys can
be victorious. They seem to find that
an outlet for their youthful enthusiasm,
and whole parties gather on the rear
and down. The result is that the car
begins series Of lady-like lurches, !
which continue to grow unlady-like as
tile boys increase their activity. And
only too often has their pleasure resulted
in trouble for the company. When car
has q broken axle there are but two
things to do. Either turn 1t over where
it stands, or run it couple Of blocks
along the track where 1t will be out of
the way Of the cars running. 1t can
then be repaired at leisure.
-.
Excessive heat or cold often is the |
cause Of closing up the slot in the tracks.
II the motorman sees this in time all
that has to be done is to open 1t, as
he can stop his car before it is reached. !
If. however, he fails to notice 1t, he gen.
orally finds his pillow has been pulled off |
in pretty short order, whereupon two |
brands Of trouble develop in no time
All these things happen directly to the |
mechanism of the car itself. In case of
a fire being on a street where there is a |
car line trouble again brews for the COM |
pany. The emergency wagon has to be
called out and bridge has to be run up
to carry the hose over the tracks and at
the same time allow the cars to run.
Then in the winter time, when it is I'M
usually slippery, horses are liable to slip
and fall on the car rails and 1t may be
two or three minutes before they can
start of again. That is only a short time.
Dut when IL happens where tncIe Is what
Is called a short Roadway, or where there
are considerable number of cars run
ming. 1t is long enough to bring several
Of them to a standstill.
And yet with all these brands Of trouble |
apt to happen at any moment, not to
mention all the kinds which have not
been enumerated here, it is estimated
that about only one per cent of the cars
in service have accidents happen to them
a day, which means that street tie-ups
are not so frequent that they have ceased
to be source Of interest to passers-
by.