Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-05-19
INVESTIGATE
COLLISION
ON ELECTRIC

The Oregon Railroad Commission
yesterday afternoon made &C thorough
investigation of the collision between
freight train and passenger car
on the line of the Portland Railway,
Light & Power Company on May 8,
and made the following finding:
ION May 8, 1911, extra freight,
northbound, No. 1903, of the Port
land Railway, Light & Power Com
pany consisted of an electric locomo-
tive and 16 empty ballast cars and a
caboose. Train No. "a, a regular
southbound passenger train, is reg
ularly shown upon the time card
These two trains collided with con-
siderable force at Hogan at 1855 p.
m. of May s 1911, and practically
all of the passengers in the first coach
OF No. "a were injured. An investi-
cation was had btfore the commits
sion, and the testimony of both train
crews and the dispatcher was taken.
This accident was due, confessed
ly, to the failure of the crew of extra
No. 1403 to observe the rights of
train No. a. superior train. The
explanation given is that the crew
simply overlooked train No 81, and
instead of protecting against train
No. "a, calculated ON making meet
with train No. sc instead.
There was no defect in equip
ment and the orders were correct
under standard railroad rules, and
the crew of No. "a was within its
rights.
After the investigator of the Ho-
gan accident had been concluded by
the commission, but before a report
thereon had been drafted, on May
IA, 1911, another and somewhat
similar collision occurred between
extra freight train No. 1405 and pas
senger train No. 70 near Barton.
There were no casualties, and but
slight damage resulted to equipment.
This was investigated by the commits
sion and engineer of the commission,
who heard the statements of the re-
spective train crews and inspected
the running orders. This latter colli-
sion was undoubtedly due to the at
tempt on the part of the crew of eX-
ira No. 1405 to make a meet with
passenger train No. 70 on insufficient
time, in violation of existing rules.
"The latter investigation also
showed that after extra No. 1405 had
left Boring another extra, No. 1861.
a passenger train, had been permit
ted to follow 1t at an interval of but
three minutes. This Is a clear VIOLA
ton Of rule No. 81 of the company,
which provides for the spacing OF
trains five minutes apart This, how
ever, had nothing to do with the col
lision, but might itself have easily
been the cause of an accident, or re-
suited in a double accident at Barton.
1--WE have considered the fact
shown by these two Investigations,
in connection with our own observa-
ton of the service, and reports of
previous accidents on this division,
and have come to the conclusion that
we are warranted in making the
strongest possible recommendations
that automatic block signals be in
stalled over the remainder of the
Springwater division at the earliest
practical moment. Such signals, had
they been installed and in operation,
would almost certainly have prevent
ed one Of the above collisions, and
possibly would have prevented both.
I'VE feel warranted in saying that
IL this recommendation is not volun-
tarily acceded to, we regard the evil
dence before us a sample to justify
an order upon formal proceedings,
which would direct the installation
of such signals"