The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-04-17
CARELESSNEss CAUSE OF WRECK
Continued from Page IT,

Extra No % which indicated to the eng-
neer of said train that he should not pass
said station until he received orders
Shortly afterwards, said train moved
southerly and passed said station and, asl
1t passed the station, the station agent
handed to the fireman of said train one OF
the triplicate copies of said order, and
when the caboose of said train passed he
handed to the rearend brakeman an
other triplicate copy Of said order. The
last named copy was handed by the rear
end brakeman to the conductor who read
the same and passed it back to the rear
end brakeman who also read the order.
The copy of the order delivered to the
fireman was handed by him to the engi-
neer who read the same aloud to the
fireman and the head brakeman who was
also on the engine.
In the order delivered to the fireman
and brakeman of Extra No. % as afore-
said. the word "Bartonsville" as written
nv the station agent at Gassetts was not
plain and was SO poorly written that it
was doubtful whether a stranger, seeing
| the word by itself, could have told what
was intended by it. When the order was
read by the conductor of Extra No. %
as aforesaid he was in doubt as to what
was intended by that word and there was
some talk between him and the rear-end
| brakeman as to what was intended.
/ The engineer and head brakeman were
both killed in the wreck The fireman
was present at the hearing and testified
that he did not read the said order him
self and only knew of its contents by
hearing the engineer read it aloud and
that the engineer in reading the order
called the word Bellows Falls" instead of
'Bartonsville."
/ Extra No. % proceeded southerlv from
| Gassetts and made no stop until the col
lision. When the said train passed the
station at Bartonsville the conductor was
again in doubt as to whether the train
ought not to stop at that station, Nbut al
lowed the train to proceed without doing
Ianything either to determine with GER
tainty what the order meant or to stop
the train at Bartonsville.
Extra % was equipped with an arrange
ment called the conductor valve by
which the conductor, who was in the
caboose. might have applied the air brakes
upon the whole train at Bartonsville an6
brought it to a stop. This he did not
do. but in the face of the existing doubt
IS to the meaning of the order allowed
the train to proceed to the place of acct
dent.
Even if the order had read Below
Falls" instead OF "Bartonsville," train No
% would not have had time under the or
der to have made the first named station
The distance from Gassetts to Below
Falls is seventeen and seven-tenths az
miles According to the testimony in tn
case. Extra No. % left Gassetts at Ill
> p. NJ. The rule provided that leeway o
five minutes should be extended to tn
!, superior train after the inferior train ha
u taken the siding. The rule also limit
> the speed of freight trains over the lin
y in question to % miles per hour. Tn
= testimony shows. and we find. that if tn
train had arrived at the siding at BELOW
Z Falls it would have required four minute
in which to open the switch, run onto tn
: siding and set the switch again for tn
q main line The time then required TO
meeting No. f65 at Bellows Falls, provide
: No % ran all the way at twenty-tiv
> (2jl miles per hour, would be forty eigh
: and one quarter ASA minutes while III
der the order there were only thirty thre
, (33l minutes in which to accomplish thr
I If the order had read Bellows Falls
instead of 'Bartonsville' Extra No % II
: stead Of pulling into Bellows Falls undo
: the order could have taken the siding Z
i Riverside, two miles north of Below
y Falls but even if that had been carrie
!" out there would have been ten and OF
quarter 10h) minutes shortage of tim
We find that the cause of the accidel
was the combined carelessness of Il
agent at Gassetts in writing the order
question. and the negligence of the co
I ductor and engineer Of Extra No. .
: proceeding past Bartonsville station wis
n in doubt as to their right to pass tn
station.