Norwich bulletin., 1913-06-19

|. J own personal opinion is that Engineer Ooherty should not have been allowed to run the train,' declared Patrick !. 1angd0n, an air brake expert of the Laekawanna railroad, referring to the train which was in the wreck at Stain- ford last Thursday, before the joint inquiry today, by the Interstate Com merce Commission and the Connecticut Public Utilities Commission. MT. Lanedon has been in the employ of the Lackawanna road for the last 27 years and is in charge of the air brake equipment on the engines.
 He said that Doherty would not have been allowed to run a passenger train on the Lackawanna until he had had a least three years experience as a freight engineer.
 Best Type Of Air Brakes.
 Mir. Langdon also gave highly im- portant testimony as to the results of the test run yesterday made by the same engine and equipment as in the Stamford wreck, and intended to dupli- cate conditions at the time of the ac- cident. General Manager Bardo of the New Haven asked him this question:
 As an air brake expert, would you say that the performance of the test train yesterday was satisfactory-tha Is. as trains come and go?'
 Mir. Langdon promptly replied Yes"
 Asked as to the type of air brakes
  ured in the wreck, MT Langdon said They are the best type of locomo- tive brakes on the market today"
 Levers Were First Class.
 He said he would rather have an pngineer with good judgment and poor brakes than first class brakes and an rngineer with poor judgment All the Safeguards in the world are valueless, he declared. if the engineer uses poor Judgment.
 Mir. Langdon gave lengthy testi- mony, much of it being technical. as to the test run yesterday. He had been invited to make the inspection with others. by President Mellen. He found engine No. 1888 at the New Haven roundhouse, with the rest of the equip ment that made up the second section of the Springfield express He checked the levers and found them first class. AS the engine was not under steam at that time, he could make no definite examination of the air brake equip ment. but noticed that the brake and feed valves were located perfectly for the engineers convenience. He made some notes on the condition of the brakes on the cars, but has not yet fig ured the percentage of ''braking."
 Working of Air Pump Erratc.
 On the day of the test he rode in the engine cab. He gave the engineer some preliminary instructions as to The object of the run, but did not speak to him after that. MT. Langdon found that the working of the air pump was cratic, which he judged to be due to dirt under the diaphragm valves In answer to a question, he said that when the engine was made ready for the run, sediment from the pipes might have collected, causing the trouble It required tapping to get the valves working properly.
 Asked as to how much pressure was necessary to set the brakes, he said Twenty pounds" This was for 'or- dinaTy'' service. and the brakes could not be set with less pressure and come to a stop in time, he said.
 Results of Different Tests.
 Telling of the different tests. Mr. Langdon said that the train running at rate of 64.5 miles an hour went a distance of 2.097 feet in forty sec onds, before stopping. At the rate of 5I 1-2 miles an hour the engine went 1,617 feet before coming to stop. The emergency brakes were on each time. With full service" brakes on. and under thirty pound pressure, the train ran 1894 feet before stopping. The train at that time was running 55 miles an hour. At the rate of sixty and one-half miles an hour the train went a distance of 2,525 feet
 On what was called the sixth test the train was sent over the road under nearly identical conditions that Doher- " experienced The train was going sixty miles an hour Pressure was reduced ten pounds, then five and fin ally emergency brakes were set. The train was 1,5T5 feet from the distant signal when the throttle was closed with a, ten pound pressure. When the emergency brakes were applied. the train stopped sos feet east of the home signal This was some distance away from the point where the wrecked ~Skylarks stood.
 Went Beyond Point of Accident on One
 Test.
 On the next test the pressure was applied as before, but was not put on until opposite the@distant signal. The train went a distance of 2296 feet, or beyond the home signal Although MT Langdon did not state so specifically, the train would have struck and gone some distance beyond the point where the Sky1ark stood.
 Other tests were made this morning, technically known as breaking away tests. At sixty miles an hour the en- zine stopped in 27 seconds from the time the emergency brakes were ap- piled, with a gap between the engine and the cars kicked off of 196 feet. A second test resulted similarly
 Conditions on Lackawanna Road.
 Chief Inspector Belknap of the In 
 MT. Langdon with frequent questions Asked as to conditions on the LAcka- wanna road, MT. Langdon said that if he found that brakes did not properly apply at a fifteen pound pressure the engine would not be allowed to leave the terminal.
 General Manager Bardo of the New Haven asked technical questions as to runs on the Lackawanna lines be- tween Hoboken and Buffalo to deter mine brake efficiency and the amount of pressure needed On the subject of stopping at signals, Mir, Langdon said that his engineers are supposed to have their train under full control at all predetermined stops. In these eases the engineer does not wait until he sees ale signal slowing down before the signal came into view. The mat ter was up to the Judgment of the man in the cab, he said.
 poherty Should Not Have Run Train. Speaking of the qualifications for engineers on the -Lacka wanna MT. sT mafn ifRsF fire411@n f0r nrnff@ftfi0fl