Norwich bulletin., 1913-06-17

l, be made from this city to Stamford,
 with the same equipment that figured | in the wreck of the second section or | the Springfield express at StamIoro
 last Thursday. The i'll fated engine
 will be used The start will be made
 at 1920 a. m. and newspapermen with
 proper credentials will be allowed on
 the train Members of the 1nterstats | commerce commission and of the Con .
 necticut' public utilities commission | will be on the train and make observa 1 tions.
 | Public Asked to Suspend Judgment 7, Pending the results of the test. Vice i, Manager c. l.. Bardo, In a joint state ment ask the public to suspend tudg-
 ment as to culpability.
 In regard to the testimony of Charles
 J. Dougherty, engineer of the second section of the Boston New York ex-
 press, which ran into the first, as to | the air brakes of the locomotive, MT.
 Whaley and MT. Bardo issued the fol- | lowing statement:
 Testimony Discussed. | Concerning the statement made by Engineer Dougherty of the second sec i ton of train 53 at the coroner's in- l quest Friday, as emphasized and free ly commented upon in the papers next morning, and as to the ineffectiveness l | indulgence of the public until both l sides can be heard and facts as to the ] effectiveness of the brakes are defi- nitely established by board of un- biased experts.
 The testimony of Engineer O'Con- nor, who handled this train between Springfield apd New Haven, consist ing of nine cars, the dining car being cut out at New Haven, with the same type of engine, and the testimony of Engineman Young, who handled the cars composing the train of section 53 with an electric engine between Stamford and New York, are conclus- i've as to the effectiveness of the brakes The company has carefully checked the brake equipment of loco motive 1898 and finds that it corre- spends in every respect to the draw ing and specifications of the Westing- house Air Brake company and that it exceeds slightly the braking power in tended. An examination of the cars composing the train by competent men -after the accident-indicates a-high grade of air-brake maintenance.
 Assignment of Engineers
 "A committee of air brake experts has been appointed by the company who will act under the instructions of i the interstate commerce commission and the public utilities commission of the state of Connecticut and will make such tests as may be necessary or di- rected to determining concluSively all the facts involved.
 %The assignment of engineers to passenger trains operated by the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad company is governed by the working conditions of the agreement, which un- til April of this year contained no limitation in this respect On Novem- Der 27. 1912. General Superintendent fcc1 an haf noin with less than two years experience should not be selected to run passenger trains. This rule was protested by the general committee representing the could not be enforced. On April 30 this year, supplements to the engi- neers' agreement were issued, which contain an added rule to article S. reading:
 " No engineer who has less than one i year roster rating as an enginer shall be allowed to run through passenger i trains.'
 ''This rule was not satisfactory to | the company, but was the best that | the men would agree to, and 1t was l accepted by the company as being the l first step in the right direction Prac- l tically every fireman promoted by this company to the position of locomotive engineer is taken from the ranks of i passenger fremen who serve any, where from one to five years in this i capacity, and are therefore familiar with the handling of passenger trains. 1 Signal System in Perfect Order.
 '"rhe signal system isNof the manu- al-controlled lock and block type, was in perfect order. and in all re- spects in accord with the hest known practice of today. It was properly op- erated and performed it's full func- l ton.
 i Especial pains were taken to make a man to man canvass of not only the engineers, but train employees of all l classes on the question of observance of the rules, signals and safe operation i of trains, regardless of delays or other l conditions.
 Tn addition to these efforts on the part of the company. the engineers and trainmen, through their commit 1 tees, have been conducting an active terest of the full observance of the | rules, signals and of greater safety of operation"
 To Act in Cooperative Spirit.
 SuppIementing the joint statement MT. Whaley issued one on his own ac- count, describing steps taken by the company with the object of bringing kthe officials and the men into the clos est personal contact, and emphasizing
  ton of the road" He said: The human equation must of neces- sity be at all times involved in the op- eration of railroad, and be particu- larly emphasized in the case of a rail- road with the large passenger business of the New York. New Haven and Hartford. Realizing this fact, how ever, it has been the concerted aim of both the officials of the company and the men themselves. acting in the most cooperative spirit, to minimize as much as possible the danger arising from this element.
 Discussion of Safety Measures. "To accomplish this purpose, an earnest campaign was inaugurated on Feb. 1 having for its object the bring ing of the officials and the men in the closest personal contact, and empha- sizing the importance of safety in the operation of the road.
 Since that date meetings have con- stantly been held, generally on Sun- days or In the evening, for the purpose of discussing safety measures and oth- CT points of operation. These meetings