Evening star., 1942-10-01
Speed Of Train
In B. Crash
Was s45M.P.H.
Dickerson Engineer
Admits Passing Light;
CoIIopses at Heqring


CoIlopses at Heqring Y
The Ambassador from Detroit Il
was running As miles an hour when
1t rammed the Cleveland Night Ex-f
press. according to testimony given
Baltimore & Ohio officials, investi- q
eating the triple train crash at i
Dickerson last Thursday which is
believed to have cost 18 lives.
After Engineer Rufus McClelland p
of the Ambassador had testified
yesterday that he failed to see al
yellow caution signal warning of 4
the train ahead, Supt. P. K Partee 7,
OF the Baltimore division, question: N
ing him about speed, said II,
Your train ran by signal E-36-14nI
(Which showed red a few yards
from the accident scene) at APP /,
proximately so miles per hour and
struck Train 18 (the Night Express) n
at approximately As miles per hour"
Il guess I got little confused up p
there in the fog before I thought,
where 1 was" the engineer re-
sponded NJ,
Engineer Collapses. Ia
Mr.. McClelland. who has been
charged with involuntary man.
slaughter by Montgomery County
authorities. collapsed while on the
stand after admitting that he had
not seen the yellow signal which
was at the entrance to the block /
above that in which the collision;
took place-or, roughly a distance
of a mile and half away. He pre-
viously had testified to seeing the
signal, which indicated the presence
of the train ahead, and said that
he had reduced speed by half, as the
rules required. The Ambassador
struck the night express just inside
the block where the signal showed
red and hurled crowded sleeping
car into a passing freight train.
Mr.. McClelland's admission about
his failure to see the yellow signal
came during examination by F. H.
HaSkins, general manager of the
B. & O..
The engineer commented that the
accident would not have happened
if he had had an experienced fire.
man with him because the fireman
would have seen the yellow signal
Then you did not see the yellow
signal as you had previously testi-
f1ed?" Mr. Haskins asked. .
Mr.. McClelland turned pale as he
answered No and slumped for.
ward in his chair. t
Speed Tape Introduced.
officials Immediately cleared the
hearing room and called a physi-
clan. States Attorney Ben F.. Will
kinson of Montgomery County said
afterward the engineer had tainted
The hearing was then suspended
until today.
Supt. Partee introduced in evil
dence the record speed tape of the
Ambassador Diesel, which showed
he said, speed of ST miles per
hour when Mr.. McClelland passed
the yellow signal.
The superintendent added thai
the Ambassador began to drop grad.
ually from point one-quarter OF
mile west of the bridge across
the Monacacy River to the eastern
end of the bridge, where it was ap.
proximately 62 miles an hour.
1T then gradually reduced to
point where the torpedoes were
struck, when it registered Sc mile,
per hour Mr.. Partee continued
1T passed the fusees at 81 miles pei
hour. (The fusees and torpedoe,
had been put out by the Cleveland
trainD Mr. Partee then fixed the
speed at the time of the accident.
Fireman inexperienced.
John p McCurdy, "a, Diesel elec.
trio supervisor on the Ambassador
said the windshield wipers on tha
front of the locomotive were moi
working at the time and that the
train was running through patches
of fog.
Paul V. Bowman, fireman on the
Ambassador, said he was regulating
the motors of the locomotive when
the engineer began to make an
emergency stop.
Mr.. Bowman related that he heard
the explosion of torpedoes two OF
three seconds later" and Il put my
head out the window and saw the
reflection of the fusees, the red
signal and the back of the Cleveland
train. pulled my head in and
yelled to the mechanic to duck a,
1T looks like Mac has got him."
Wilson H. Stevens. road foreman
of engines for the Baltimore divi-
sion, testified that Mr.. Bowman
had made only three previous runs
on Diesefengines and never had re-
ceived more than preliminary exam
nation.
Before the war, Mr.. Stevens ex-
planned, firemen were required Ia
serve one year on the freight trains
before they could qualify for pas
senger service. Because of the man.
power shortage, he added, the rail-
road was forced to use younger and
less experienced men,"
Mr. Bowman said he was hired
by the B.. & o. in March, 1912.