BROOKVILLE WEEKLY Wednesday, November 15, 1945
Volume No. 22, Issue No. 12
Experts Blame Train Accidents on Poor Construction By Ellen Gilbert In early February of this year, an engine travelling southeast on the Dayton & Western line was thrown off the track and broken into pieces. The engine was pulling passenger cars and freight cars carrying tobacco, lumber, and grain, and a carload of cattle. The baggage car and one passenger car were derailed. The engineer and fireman were hurt slightly; otherwise, no injuries were reported. The train, of course, did not complete its daily run. The Greenville track was also shut down for the day, as the boiler had fallen onto that track. Considering the amount of train accidents that have occurred nationally, the rails have been under much scrutiny and investigation. Mark Aldrich, a railroad and economic historian from John Hopkins University, blames the numerous mishaps on the fact that “American railroads are uncapitalized, overly dependent on inferior track work, often lacking basic signaling equipment and overburdened with astonishingly dangerous freight cars”(346). The implication of this statement is that the quality of the American railroads is poor because standard safety equipment is missing and the freight cars are overburdened. The combination of these things contributes to the numerous train incidents that have occurred throughout the years. However, at the time of installation, there was a need to construct the tracks as quickly as possible. Francis Galton, British scientist and explorer, states that “The American system [of building the railroad] was well-fitted to the needs of the American people; a rough and ready cheap railway entails increased cost for maintenance, but is preferable to a more expensive and finished line” (qtd. in Luckin,448). In other words, the demand to meet the needs of a growing country called for the speed with which the railroads were built, regardless of the costs that would incur later. Imminent service was preferred over quality.
The second accident that has occurred lately along the Dayton & Western line was much more serious. The Spirit of St. Louis was carrying a passenger car full of troops, along with a boxcar bringing home deceased soldiers. An elderly couple in a car failed to yield to the train and crossed the track, causing the train to collide with the car, leave the tracks, and almost hit the Brookville depot. The engineer and fireman were severely burned when the locomotive overturned. Other cars were flung from the track. The boxcar flew open releasing caskets onto the track; several caskets opened, and the bodies of dead soldiers had to be collected and returned to their coffins. Numerous passengers were injured, but not fatally; however, the female passenger in the car was killed. Was this the fault of the driver or the railroad line? Speculation differs on this question. Aldrich further discusses the investigation undergoing the railroad tracks. He states that “Large-scale derailments and collisions are being investigated, but also death and injury amid employees and the innumerable individuals who wandered onto tracks or were mowed down at inadequately marked crossings” (158). According to Aldrich, there is a possibility that the fault lie at the hands of those who built the track; if in fact, proper signals were not installed. Maybe a thorough safety investigation will bring light to the subject of whether the crossing at Albert St. is properly marked. When Station Agent, Fred Knierim was questioned about these incidents and the allegations made by Aldrich and Galston, Knierim remained undaunted. His opinion was that when a locomotive is traveling at a high rate of speed, there are bound to be a few accidents. Kneirim firmly believes that the accidents were just a case of bad luck and careless actions, and that further investigation will show that at least this railroad line will prove to be satisfactory in its condition. Dr. Nancy Mack Wright State University