The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1913-10-23
NATION WIDE FIGHT
FOR STEEL CARS is
STARTED IN EARNEST
Interstate Commerce Commission and
Congress Expected to Take Def
mite Action in Near
Future.
nv JOHN sNuRE.

Washington-Two striking facts
bonn up In connection with the disas-
trous wreck recently ON the New
Haven at Wallingford. One IL that
b terrible loss OF life was in great
measure due to the use or Anticipated,
wooden cars and that in all the Ions
series Of New Haven wrecks 1t Is the
wooden oar and the passengers caught
therein, like rats In a trap. who have
suffered; the other is that the exper-
lenoe OF other roads with the modern,
plI-steel a on h~igh-speed trains is
b such cars do prevent less loss OF
life and do contribute greatly to the
safety OF passengers.
So Tar Is It true that the ~all-steel car
u q great factor In the safety Of rail-
road travel that a high Pennsylvania
railroad official recently told n IN
terstate Commerce commission n all
steel equipment OF that road had more
than paid for itself.
Interstate Commerce commission Of
nctalS have gone over the long list OF
New Haven wrecks In the last w
years. They said that In all The pas
senger train wrecks on the New Haven
from 1911 to now, the cars which were
smashed mp and in which the passen-
gers were injured were wooden cars.
The Fairfield wreck OF June s, 1911.
was q freight wreck. Then came the
wreck OF the Federal express, at
Bridgeport July 10. 1911. In that, AZ
were killed and 100 injured. Here, the
cars which suffered chiefly were
wooden cars and the loss Of life was
largely due to their use. The crushed
to pieces like &C many eggShells. So
* vas In the case OF the Middletown.
Berlin Junction, Clinton. S~teningha1n
err wrecks on the New Haven In the
calamitous years 1911, 1919 and 1913.
Striking data rs 70 the prevalence or
the use Of the wooden car on h New
Haven was given to the officials of the
Interstate Commerce commission at
the time OF the Stamford wreck by Mr..
Wildin,. mechanical superintendent OF
q total of 2,288 cara of various types
comprising the passenger equipment OF
the New Haven at the time OF the
Stamford wreck, June IL, 1913, only 81
were of all-steel construction, the
balance being constructed Of wood. or
the Pullman cars used OF the road,
there were 236, OF which "a were OF
a~ll-steel construction; 81 had steel
underframes and 155 were wooden.
The Tyrene wreck was almost a du-
plicate Of the wreck at Wallinford. IL
was rear end. A high-speed train
smashed into another train which was
Just leaving the station. The rear train
was going 40 miles an hour. Not a pas-
senger was killed. The only person
killed was h engineer OF the rear
train. The cars used were. all OF them,
steel.
In the case of the Tyrene wreck, the
cars. instead of being crushed to pieces
had their vestibules crushed and the
ends more or less damaged. But the
damage was not such as to break the
cars to pieces or to cause ~telescopiug.
Thus. passengers escaped with their
lives. H 4E wv %
Similar lessons can be CLEANED by go
ing through reports OF other wrecks
in which the steel a was used. In
the wreck at Corning. New York, on
the d. L. & w, July. 4, 1912, a wooden
car in the rear of the train struck was
| smashed to fragments but the steel
equipment stood up. None was killed
life was confined to those In the wood
en- car. In the rear-end collision at
Odessa. Mimi, December is, 1911, while
a passengers were killed In steel cars,
! there is little question the loss OF life
had there been wooden cars would
| have been much more severe.
Under such circumstances, the COM
! mission Intends to keep hamrnerinE on
the need for steel equipment and such
data as this here given win greatly
tend TO influence Congress to insist
on all-steel equipment. The report OF
| che commission on the Stamford wreck
on the New Haven showed that the
/, New Haven has been singulariy back
ward about using all-steel equipment
! and vice President Hern even said ha
was doubtful OF the d~esirabilfty OF
! steel cars compared with wooden cars