Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1913-10-23
NATION WIDE FIGHT
For STEEL CARS is
STARTEDIN EARNEST
Interstate Commerce Commission and
Congress Expected to Take Def
into Action in Near
Future.
RY JOHN sNuRE.

Washington-Two striking facts
bonn up in connection with h disas-
frous wreck recently IN the New
Haven at Wallingford. One is that
the terrible loss of life was in great
measure due to the use of antiquated,
wooden cars and that in all the long
series of New Haven wrecks 1t is the
wooden car and the passengers caught
therein. like rats in a trap, who nave
Euffered; the other is hat the exper-
fence Of other roads with the modern,
lll-steel a or high-speed trains IS
that such cars do prevent less loss OF
life and do contribute greatly to the
safety Of passengers.
So far is 1t true that the all-Steel car
Is a great factor in the safety of rail-
road travel that a high Pennsylvania
railroad official recently told the In
terstate Commerce commission the all
steel equipment of that road had more
than paid for itself.
Interstate Commerce commission Of
f1cials have gone over the long list OF
years. They said that in all The pas
senger train wrecks On the New Haven
from 1911 to now, the cars which were
smashed UP and in which the passen-
gers were injured were wooden cars.
The Fairfield wreck of June s, 1911,
was a freight wreck. Then came the
wreck Of the Federal express, at
were killed and 100 injured. Here, the
cars which suffered chiefly were
wooden cars and the loss of life wa
largely due to their use. The crushed
to pieces like SO many eggshells. So
1t was in the case of the Middletown,
Berlin Junction. Clinton, S%teningham
Junction, Westport, Stamford and 9TH
or wrnnk0 IN the Nau Haven In the
calamitous 1911, 1912 and 1913.
Striking data as to the prevalence OF
the use Of the wooden a on the 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
the New Haven. He said that out of
a total of, 2,2SS cars of various types
comprising the passenger equipment of
the New Haven at the time of the
Stamford wreck, June IL, 1918, only 81
were Of all-steel construction, the
balance being constructed of wood. OF
the Pullman cars used on the road,
all-steel constructions; 81 had steel
underframes and 1856 were wooden.
The Tyrene wreck was almost a du-
plicate of the wreck at Wallinford. 1t
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 the 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
end more or less damaged. But the
damage was not such as to break the
cars to pieces or to cause telescoping.
Thus, passengers escaped with their
lives
Similar lessons can be CLEANED by 60
ing through reports Of other wrecks
in which the steel car was used. In
the wreck at Corning, New York, on
the D. l.. & w, July. 4, 1912, a wooden
smashed to fragments but the steel
equipment stood up. None was killed
in the steel equipment and the loss of
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 hammering on
the need for steel equipment and such
data as this here given will 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 s%ingularly back
ward about using all-steel equipment
and Vice President Hern even said he
was doubtful Of the desirability OF
steel car compared with wooden cars