Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-09
|. C. c. inspector Reports on
Prevention of Rail-
way Wrecks.
WANTS AUTOMATIC DEVICE
FOR STOPPING TRAINS
Wreck at Tyrone, Pa, in July Point
ed to as Containing an
Object Lesson.

An argument for steel coaches and
automatic train-stupping device is written
throughout the report Of H. ". Belnap,
cnler inspector of safety appliances of
the interstate commerce commission, on
the wreck at Tyrone, Pa, July 80 last.
The cars in the two trains were of steel
construction, and the collision resulted
In the death of the engineman. injury
of 126 passengers, twenty employees. five
postal clerks and two Pullman employees.
The principal damage to the cars seemed
TO be only the crushing in of the vesti-
bules. the steel construction furnishing
an excellent safeguard against telescop-
ing. Failure to obey signals was given
as the cause Of the wreck
The report goes into some detail in
giving the evidence Of various witnesses
10 the accident, who seem to vary as to
the signals received and the time the
brakes were applied. Railroad employees
along the tracks stated that the sig
nails were set properly, while the en-
gineman, fireman and the assistant road
foreman. Of engines, who was riding on
the colliding train. stated that they only
saw one red signal, and that just be-
fore they saw the train ahead. They
said that the brakes were then applied.
However, employees on the same train
declared that the brakes were not APP
piled, and that the train was going at
approximately forty-five miles an hour
when 1t struck the train ahead.
Effects of Collision.
'The collision" says the report, in
describing the damage to the steel
coaches, resulted in pulling out one OF
the couplers on the first car in train
No. Is (the one which was hit}; the
rear end Of the rear car was crushed
for ten or twelve feet. and the other
end OF this car was damned into the
rear end Of the dining car. crushing
that car for six or eight feet The en-
CINE Of train No. 10 (the colliding
train) was considerably damaged; the
tender body was thrown off the tender
frame and came to rest across track
No. and at right angles to 1t. The first
postal car was thrown diagonally
across track No. 4. the front end
coming to rest on the station platform;
one end Of this car was crushed for
about fifteen feet, and the roof over
about half the car was out Of align
ment. The other end Of this car was
stove in. Some Of the other cars in
this train suffered slight damage, con-
sisting principally Of broken windows
and fixtures. The substantial construc-
ton of the modern steel cars making
up these trains is without doubt the
reason that none of the passengers
was killed"
The report contains a number of Illus
trations Of the damage done to the cars.
and on this point says: "It will be noted
that the shock Of collision was largely
absorbed by the crushing OF the platforms
and vestibules of the cars, and that the
bodies Of the cars In these trains were but
slightly damaged"
Tests of the signals made Immediately
after the collision. the report continues
showed that they were working properly.
and in a test of the airbrakes before the
train left Harrisburg they appeared to
work properly. A test after the collision
showed that the brakes were still in good
working condition.