Evening star., 1935-04-14
Grade-Crossing Mathematics.

In Great Britain there are ap-
prcximately $4,000 miles of railways
and virtually no grade crossings.
In the United States there are ten
times as many miles of rail lines
and, according to a recent estimate,
258,o00 grade crossings. The British
lines are inclosed by fences. which
prevent trespass upon the permanent
way" and highways are carried under
or over the tracks. Thus grade cross
ing accidents are unknown in that
land. In this country they occur con-
stantly, with q heavy loss Of life.
In the beginning Of American rail-
road construction the lines were laid
across the open country. without re-
gard to the possibility Of encroach-
ment by persons on foot or in vehicles.
The system had grown to great ex-
tent of mileage before the menace to
life was realized. and 1t then required
stubborn fighting on the part of law
makers, when they were spurred by
public indignation, to correct the more
dangerous conditions in the neigh
borhood of large centers of popula-
ton. even in the cities themselves.
The railroads opposed all efforts to
make them inclose. raise. lower or
otherwise safeguard their tracks at
congested points, and their influence
was constantly exerted to prevent
compulsory legislation. Finally q
compromise was effected. the cost of
highway lowering or raising being
divided between the lines and the
communities.
Washington's own experience in
this matter of grade crossings within
the city itself was bitter and costly
one. Not until the plans for the Union
Station were carried out were these
urban grade crossings eliminated-and
not entirely at that. Today there
remain several points of such danger
within the boundaries of the District
Of Columbia.
The number Of grade crossing acci-
dents has greatly increased with the
development Of the motor car. The
process of grade crossing elimination,
now that highway travel has become
heavy, has been unequal to the in
crease of danger. Where the roads
remain at grade with the tracks such
safeguards" as signs. sound signals,
watchmen and gates have in some
measure been provided. But these
are unreliable expedients. Reckless
drivers dash past all signals, and even
crash through gates in their haste
to beat the train" There is no de-
pendable, assured protection as long
as the tracks and the highway are at
grade. Certainly none where for q
third of each twenty-four hours the
safeguards are removed, as at the
Rockville crossing, where fourteen
children we're killed by train Thurs
day night
The ALLEGATION of 5000, ,000, 900 Of the
recently voted public works fund of
four billions for the construction Of
overhead and underpass highway
railway intersections will not go very
far If all of the communities now
afflicted with this menace to life pro-
ceed to comply with the Presidents
condition that they acquire the neces-
sary rights of way to permit such
construction. That sum, if all spent,
would average a trif1ing fraction over
$500 for each of the 238,000 grade
crossings in the United States. At
$4,000 for each work Of this char
acter it would account for 1000 grade
crossings, or only a little more than
one and a half per cent of the total
number of crossings. Obviously there
must be concentration upon the worst
cases. The measurement to be ap-
piled in the selection of those worst
cases is that Of highway use and rail-
road headway, with the record of
fatalities at those points as a sinister
index to necessity.