The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-04-01

''tends to safety under extreme con-
dit1ons, yet, when the enginemen to-
tally disregard signals, the greater lat
itude permitted in normal operation
introduces additional risks not inner
emit in shorter crossovers. The liza
bilities to disaster are, of course,
much more serious in the case of an
engineer exceeding the higher safe
speed prescribed for the long cross
overs than in exceeding, to the same
degree, the lower safe speed prescrib-
ed for the shorter crossovers.
''In this, as In other matters, the use
of safety devices, designed to avert the
consequences Of disregarding orders
or signals, introduces new and addi-
t1onal risks, which may result in i'm
pairing rather than in aiding public
safety. The human element is and
always will be the most important sin
gle factor, and any relief from person
al responsibility is always attended by
dependence in greater or less degree
upon the safety devices, which goes
far to compensate the additional safe
ty sought"
brought out by Mr.. McHenry is the
matter of curvature at the switch an
gle. In q No. 10 or short crossover,
the switch point is shorter and more
obtuse; and the longer the crossover,
the more acute must this rail be made.
In a No. 10 frog the length of the
switch point is as long as the full
length of a rail affords, and therefore
the length of switch point of a No.
15 frog in ordinary practice is re-
tanned for all higher numbers. Con-
sequent1y the full advantage of higher
number frogs cannot be secured. Ev-
en- if this were possible, extra hazards
would be entai1ed, as the difficulties
of maintaining and safely insuring the
longer and more acute frog points and
switch rails increase with the length
of the crossover The longer and
narrower switch points are more Ii
able to breakage from unforeseen
flaws and defects, and any slight fault
in the adjustment of guard rails is
liable to cause disaster by DETECTING
wheel in the wrong direction at the
frog point.
Despite the great cost and apparent
futiity of replacing the large number
of No. Is crossovers already in track
with No. 20, the work is being push
ed as rapidly possible. In fact, so
that travelling on railroads may be
made as safe as human ingenuity will
allow, every possible means is being
taken to. offset failure on the part of
enginemen to obey signals. But the
efforts of the officials of the New Ha-
ven Company and of all other rail-
road companies are being taxed to the
limit TO DE1nS dDOuI d I0d14AdI1OA O1
the part of the enginemen of the abso-
lutte necessity of obeying signals. Mr.
Lucius futile, when he was president
of the Boston and Maine, showed the
necessity of obedience to signals in an
interview following the wreck of a
train that passed a stop signal and
ran into an open draw. He said:
''You can't open that draw, you can't
pull the bolts that drop it, until all
signals are set for danger, and they
at danger while the draw is
open. The engineman knew these
signals were there and he knew what
they meant. A railroad may supply
every safety device known to modern
science for precaution, it may put in
the perfection of safety appliances for
the safety of it's passengers and its
stock, but you can't get by the human
You've got to stop right
there
Every railroad in the country that
is confronted with the problem of in
density of traffic is most
anxious to secure and to install any
in signal devices or to
improve it's right of way for the sim |
pie and practical reason that by so
doing the facilities for handling traf- |
fic are correspondingly increased. TIL lie |
safety of passengers and stock is not |
ecessarily obtained in this manner, |
however. In fact the safety problem |
becomes more complex in certain re-
spects. The engin eman, for instance, |
1as added responsibility thrust upon |
aim every time additional signals are
Installed, and there are more physical
Darts that are liable to get out of Or
1er In the latter case there is the
possibility of a safety device being
he cause of accident that it had
been installed to prevent. This was
he case in a recent disastrous acct
lent on a railroad in France.
During the reconstruction of the
,rossovers on the New Haven, the
time has been slightly
ength ened, but as soon as the work is
completed the old schedule will be re-
stored.