Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-05
injured in cOupine cars for the years |
named has been as follows:

80. .................:... &c 50
The above shows that there Is cry
title protection for the trainmen in the
automatic couplcrs that are being ado. t.
are built and there Is still no known
method of compelling train hands or any
other class of people to observe ordinary
precautions.
TIE LARGEST number of trainmen are
killed by falling from the tops of freight
, cars. the average number being over 100.
Tho year 1909 was the record year for
the smallest number of accidents on
railways and for fatalities
Lowest and injuries, both for pas
p.o.rd senSers and trainmen.
since statistics have been
kept. 1t Is an extra ordinary coincidence
that the minimum of all kinds of acct
dents was recorded for that year You
will notice by an examination of the
above tables that only $50 passengers
were killed in 1909. as against GIT in 1907
and 421 in 1910, and only l., 116 passen-
gers were injured. as against 1881 In
1907 and Ii, 1916 in 1910. Only 1856 train
hands were killed that year, as COM
pared with 1888 in 1908 and 1883 in 1910.
The totals for 1909 Of both passengers
and employees killed was 1913. as against
y 600 in 1907 and 1884 in 1910, and the
number of both injured was $500, as
against 6S,9S9 in 1908 and S2,374 in 1910.
The smallest number Of train acc1-
dents, the smallest number of coupling
accidents. the smallest number of col
lisions and the smallest number of de-
. railments occurred in 1909 since records
have been kept. and only one passenger
was killed for every 1923. COG carried, and
one in ured for every S6,4JS carried.
In 1909 only one passenger was killed
for every 1888, COG carried and one injured
for every S6.45S carried. For 1908 the
were carried for one killed, and 1907
passengers were carried for one injured.
With respect to the number of miles
Travelled the figures for 1909 show that
115,056,611 passenger miles were accom-
plished for each passenger killed, and g.
S23, 133 passenger miles for each passen-
ger injured. For 1903 the figures were
76, Sa2, 9O5 passenger miles for each pas
senger killed, and 2.516.6S7 passenger
miles for each passenger injured.
There is no explanation for this phe-
nomenon. The weather in 1909 was no
different from that Of any
Explanation other year; just as many
r:m,L trains were run as usual
Oi0"A'' and just as many passen-
gers carried, and practically the same
employees were operating the same trains
as before and since. Nevertheless these
figures contain a great deal Of food for
reflection.
A good many people will DE surprised
to learn that more passengers and en-
plOyeS are killed on the German railways
than upon those in the United States in
comparison to the numbers carried, al
though the number of accidents is very
jured is insignificant in comparison with
the number killed. / have not been able
to get figures later than 1907, for, al
though the Germans have a perfect sys-
tenn of recording and publishing COM
mercial and other statistics, they are very
slow in getting them out.
The railways Of Germany have total
mileage of a little more than Sd, coo miles.
in comparison with more than go 900
miles IN the United States. The govern
80. 439 miles and private corporations
2,642 miles. The tracks ara absolutely
perfect. 1t may be said that every rail-
way track in Germany is as good as the
best we have in the United States. The
average speed of the trains is about the
same as in this country, but the loco
motives and cars, both for passenger and
freight drains. are very much lighter. and
for that reason much more easy to handle
than those in this country. Neverth aless.
when an accident does occur in Germany
the fatalities are very much greater and
the number of injured very much less
than in the United States
X 4
The following statement will show the
number Of accidents that occurred upon
the railways of Germany
German during the years named,
r which, as l have already
said, are the latest for which
statistics have been published: