Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-17
IgEl;K'C0ADOCTOR'''
! BY QUIZ.
J(dmits Train Order Was De-
I stroyed, but other Testi-
mony Conflicts
ENGINEER TESTIFlES

.1
< geondsctor and engineer Of the Reading
4 Qaii~ay train that collided with an.
ether near Bryn Atbyn Decembcr o..
! ~ the stand in their own defense to-
I lay.
Tho wreck cost the lives Of twenty
seven persons. Evans and Ieaklc nre
being tried at Norristown for criminal
negligence.
Evans statements under cross-ex.
animation were confused and in some
instances contradictory. He contended
that his train had been in the block
when the other train had been ordered
70 clear from Churchville at the op.
posite end Of the block. II disrcgardcd
no rule. misread no order he said.
mo other train had any right IN that
block while l was there. y He admitted
sitter question that the rules OF the
railroad do not consider Il siding as part
Of the block. His train was on siding
before 1t pulled out from Brsn Athyn.
District Attorney Renniger chen pro-
dsred stenographic report Of the
statement Evans had made at the raj =
ways own investigation, Immediately
following the wreck.
s'If you say now asked the District
Attorney, that you misread no order.
Why did you say then Il mis- took the
number on the train order. ! thought
II said 15i instead of 1867 No. l'4
was n delayed milk train that passed
Evans train at the siding at Bryn
Athyn.
Denies Nothing in First Report
The only reply Evans would make
Vas. II deny nothing THAI I said in
that report
Hero Judge Swartz took hand in
the interrogatory.
If you read the order properly. you
rust have known that No. 1856 had to
yoU?'
"Yes." replied tho witness.
III you could have waited until it
passed. would You have left that siding
and gone into the block?"
Evans maintained again that while
he vas in the block 156 had no right
to be there. At the same time he
admitted that thr authority of the train
order was supreme.
"Well.' asked the Judge. "what use
is the train order II you can run the
trains rs YOU see tit!''
In Readings Employ Since 1900
Evans, in answer to question by
his own attorney. said that he had been
In the Reading service since 1900. and
never before bad had d serious accident.
1eaklc took the stand next. He is
still recovering from injuries received
in the wreck. He seemed very feeble.
but insisted that he would stand rather
than sit.
Yeakle said that Evans had given
him copy of the order and that he
put it In his pocket. lie had received
M IN I,t II
seeing his switch open. started his en-.
gine.
II looked back he said, "apd got
q hand signal from somebody to 10 on. !"
He said that it was the custom among
3 eog1meers on the division to regard an
epcn switch as authority to go on.
they do 1t every morning at Hunt
inSton Valley" he said.
Records Destroyed
: Records of the train order that
Evans. the conductor, is supposed to
have disobeyed. have been DESTROYED.
Harry V. Tomlinson. station agent
at Church villa, testified that on the
morning Of the wreck. while No. 1856
was waiting, be had received an order
from the agent at Bryn Athyn reading
"Clear block and thereupon No. 1856
had moved on.
Theodore Lane Bean. counsel for
Evans, asked Tomlinson II he had made
record of the order. The witness re-
piled that he had The lawyer asked
entitled signal records"
Mr.. Bean examined it carefully.
"This is not the original book?" he
said.
& Tomlinson hesitated. then replied that
II was not. He explained that shortly
after the wreck he had torn the entries
dating from November 80 to December
8 from the original book first, how
ever, copying them into the book he
from the attorney. he said that it was
these recopied entries he Had shown at
the investigation before the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
Judge Swartz her interyened and
asked II the particular record under
question had not been copied exactly,
including the entry Of the minute of its
receipt.
eyes" Tomlinson replied.
"Can you show it to us?'' the Judge
asked.
Tomlinson took the book. fumbled
with il for moment, and then an
nounced that the order in question had
not been included In his copy.
Mr.. Bean. The witness admitted that
Il was.
lie was then asked what he had don,
with the original records He ey-
planned that after copying them he had
dropped them into his waste basket
He said he had made tho copy becuIIso
the old book had become crowded and
contained some cxtraDeouS notes.
Baggage Master Testifes
Felix Liberto, baggage master of
Train No. III. said he had seen Evans
got his orders from Russell Clayton,
station agent at Bryn Athyn He had
not seen the orders. He had noticed.
however, that as the train moved on the
manual signal remained set against 1t.
He said that he had observed Train
No. 15l. tho milk train, pass at Bryn
Athyn and that no one familiar witt,
the train could have mistaken it TO,
No. 1876.
The Judge asked Liber,o if the derail
switch had not also been closed unit
ono of the crew threw it on.