The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-11-15
Proximate Cause Was High Speed at Which Clark Drove Engine Through Crossover
But Duty of Company is to Pro vide High Speed Equipment to Neutralize Blunders of Servants
Wreck Would Have Been Pre- vented by Long Crossover,
 Full Stop, or Automatic Stop

vented by Long CrossOver,
 Full Stop, or Automatic Stop
 Recommendations For Larger
 Train Crews, Longer Cross overs, Automatic Stops, Bet
 ter Extinguishers and For Steel Cars
 Coroner John J. Phelan, of this city,
 making inquest into the death of Jes- l sic Hamilton Ransom, A years old, | of Albany, N. Y., who was killed iu ! the wreck of the Springfield Express,
 in Westport. Oct 3, finds her death
 due to the criminal negligence of
 George Clark, the engineTnan, plus the
 concurring negligence of the New
 York, New Haven 6 Hartford Rail- l tained a short crOsSOver at the point of wreck, although knowing that it's engfnemen were likely to violate the rules of the company by running at high speed through the croSsover, and also knowing that Q long crossover, | No. 20 type, would have averted the conseque of such ddsobedience. The report is transmitted to Grand l Juror Harry R. Sherwood of Westport, | that he may take such proceed -lgs as moderate in tone, is drastic in it's conclusions, and is a scathing indict- ment of the methods by which the New Haven Company operates it's lines.
 The wreck at westport followed the wreck of the Federal Express in this city, which had succeeded a crash of four freight trans between Bridgeport and WestpoTt. In All of these wrec3s, which were acconnpanied by serious loss of life. the railroad had pleaded violation Of 1 it's rules by it's trainnne eL. i And to tflis point Coroner Phelan says that if high speed is to prevail ! high speed equipment known to mod ern raalroading must be ezacted Of the New Haven Company, and that the
 eyaae ey.lsi-s rsssponstbiaty to it's own psssessz gers caused aby the vioaations of its i own rules by it's. own servants.
 The coroner declare that long cross overs. or >abrule for a full stop before entering a crossover, or an autonaIlc stop at the entrance to the crossover would have prevented the accident at He says that the company had been warned ysCoroner Clifford B. Wilson, of this city, at the time of the. Fed eral wreck, that its crossovers were too short and that the use Of the longer curve of transition had been
 reconrnended to the officers of the i ] Commission. which recommendation was known to the New Haven Com pany. but had been ignored
 TNhe coroner also says that after the train had been deraiIed the loss of life
 would have been prevented, or largely Ifirlfrnized had the train been equlp- ned with steel cars, instead of wooden cars. At least he says the horrors of ; fire would not then have been added to the horror of wreck.
 Speaking of the -four women wno . &r, n of .T6e{e{16
 Ransom was one, he says that the train was meager1y manned, and that no. trainnnen were permanent on the gers either to alleviate their suffer inss. effect their rescue, or operate the fire extinguishers
 He also finds that the New Haven Company, knew that automatic train stops can be used to offset the weak ness of the human element, but thar it made no effort to install such ap- pIiances.
 To show the reasons upon which this conclusion is based he quotes rom reports of the Block Signal ana Con- trol Board to the Interstate Com merce Commission, showing that the former had urged the use Of the asIto-H naatic stop.
 were brought to the attention of H. J. Horn and F. c. Buckland, both vice presidents of the New Haven road but that they did not formulate any rue requiring full stops at crossoverss or the installation of automatic stops
 The testimony of Signal Engineer prove that the New Haven Company knows that the automatic srop oeV1ce is practical
 The coroner considers the testimony of a former track foreman of the New Haven Company, who testified, that the roadbed at the scene of; the wreck was in bad condition, in that ties were rotten, rails poorly attached to the ties and that spikes could be pulled by hand. investigation of roadbeds on railroads leading into New York, and upon the main fine of no road did he find such inferior conditions of track and road bed as existed at*Westport. was not a contributing cause to the disaster.
 The coroner concludes his report 1 with seven recommendations and the finding of criminal negligence, the neg hgence of the New Haven Company to which reference has been made.
 The wreck of the Springfield New York express, train '-21d 5S'', occurred ] just east of the Saugatuck- Westport 1 station at 4:45 on the evening Of sens were killed. four of this number 1 being burned to death in parlor car | which was overturned directly above 1 The fireman and engineer were hurled l from the cab Of the engine a result 1 of an explosion, and died almost in- One mail clerk died in the 1 Norwalk hospital as a result of injur- | ies he had sustained 1
 The dead:
 Mrs. E. P. Gavit. Albany, N Y.
 Miss Mary Hamilton, Albany, N Y. |
 Mrs James Cox Brady New York | City.
 as-=. c. g. Ramson. Albany. N. Y.