Railroad Accidents
The thicker files labeled “accidental” in 1900-1902, as well as the years prior to that, were usually railroad accidents. People were often run over by trains either because they were supposedly trespassing or because of faulty gates, or no gates at all. One woman was walking alongside some train tracks with her daughter when a train came and ran both of them over. The investigation carried out by the coroner’s office showed that the women and her child were trespassing and should not have been on the track. As a result the train driver would not get in any trouble for hitting the two women. In another accident, however, there was a faulty gate; people did not know a train was coming and proceeded to cross the bridge of train tracks. In this case, the driver was not reprimanded, but the company was for not making sure the gate was operating correctly.
The case that stands out the most in my mind is a train accident that could have been avoided if there was better communication. A controller did not understand his orders and cut off the last few cars of a train, causing those cars to crash into other train cars that were carrying some type of flammable substance. As a result the train exploded five times, claiming the lives of 32 passengers. Most of the passengers were men but there were a few women and children. It was hard going through all of the passengers’ files because if the communication had been better the accident would have never occurred.
Train Accidents vs. Occupation:
With countless train accidents between 1900 and 1902, finding common factors between these deaths is fairly straight forward. By noting two key pieces of information the nature of the cases could be determined. The occupation and the time of death (or in some cases, the time that the victim was found) are informative as to why these accidents occurred so frequently. Many of the individuals who were 'struck by a train' were listed as having the occupation 'brakeman; Union Railroad'. For non-railroad workers the time of day had a lot to do with why the individual was getting hit by the train. Many accidents occurred at night, which suggests that the decedent was confused and wandered aimlessly onto a train track, where he met his end.
A very common form of railroad-related death involved brakemen. Even after the invention of the Westinghouse air brake, many trains in this period still required brakemen to move from car to car to tighten the brakewheels, during which it was very easy for the brakeman to fall off. Prior to the invention and widespread usage of the Janney knuckle coupler (patent awarded 1873), brakemen also had to stand between cars during coupling and uncoupling; many were killed by being crushed between rail cars during this process. As later additions to this section show, railroads were however slow to adopt the new couplers, even despite federal mandates to replace the link-and-pin couplers. Other instances of brakemen being hit by trains might occur while they are disembarked to perform this task. Being a brakeman was definitely a high risk occupation.
Several of the train "accidents" were sadly silly and avoidable. Many of the victims were drunken men or women, and were quite often taking shortcuts from one place to another at night (for which the record ordinarily reads "accidental-illegal trespassing.") Sometimes the victims are children.
One unpredictable case was a man and woman found dead in the morning on the tracks. There was no explanation as to what caused their deaths-the records did not even say if they had been struck by a train. Another unusual train case was that of a man who stuck his head out the train window looking for his fallen hat. His head collided with an oncoming pole and he died instantly. Often the train accidents were occupational. Men were crushed between cars or trains wrecked into each other. In many of these cases better communication could have rendered such deaths avoidable.
One incident that was different from the norm involved an Austrian immigrant in his twenties who was thrown from the train by brakemen and landed on his head. The man and his friend were riding the rails illegally, and the brakemen stumbled upon them while inspecting the cars. According to the witnesses' testimony one brakeman robbed the deceased, and then threw him from the train as it was moving. The witness then quickly jumped off the train of his own accord to avoid a similar fate. The deceased landed on his head and suffered a severe skull fracture, leading to his death. The brakemen were eventually arrested and charged, based on the other man's testimony. What makes the case even more interesting is that the witness and deceased did not speak a word of English, so a translator was used in the testimony. Out of all the cases of railroad accidents, this is one of the few where foul play appears to be involved.
Train accidents were frequently the most common cause of accidental death during the late 1800s and early 1900s. A lot of the cases were trains that simply hit someone who was walking on the tracks, but a lot of the times crossing these tracks was unavoidable. In 1904, there were multiple cases of people crossing tracks to get to the actual train station and being hit by trains on their way across. In fact, in a file about a death in McKeesport, the verdict read that new crossing signs needed to be put up because of the growing population of McKeesport and the rising number of railroad deaths. It was very rare for the railroad companies to ever be charged with anything; they had to provide witnesses and there are transcripts of these inquests, but all this paperwork basically says the same thing- the train was going too fast, they whistled and the deceased did not move, or they were not even aware that they had hit someone until they had reached their destination. It is odd to think that there were that many deaths and no repercussions on the part of the companies or those operating the trains.
There were also a lot of work-related train deaths. When men were fixing or working on the cars, they would frequently fall and get crushed by the cars. In one case a stationary train was hit by another train and the man working on top of the stopped train was knocked off and crushed. Not all of the deaths were the trains' fault, though. A lot of the time it was drunken men, for the most part, who were crossing tracks, or walking along them, and they simply failed to get out of the trains' way. The train, unable to stop, could not avoid hitting the victims.
Between the years 1900 to 1906 there seemed to be a rather large increase of train related accidental deaths. This could be attributed to the growing railway system in Allegheny County. Many railway companies were expanding to include Pittsburgh as a major stop along the train route. The city grew rapidly into a portal between Rochester, Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore/D.C. area and countless destinations to the West. With such an increase it was only natural to notice a rise in train-related deaths.
1894
A man who was sitting on Track 3 of the Pennsylvania RR mainline near Swissvale was struck by a train of the same railroad. While this accident is sadly routine for the time period, the fireman's testimonial is of interest for its sheer succintness:
"Had engine 568. Just as we got to curve about Swissvale, saw man in track. Hit him." 189407_427
Later in the same year, a man who was moving some household goods across the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny RR (later P&LE, now CSX) tracks near Braddock had two limbs severed by a switching locomotive. The doctor who arrived on the scene did his best to stem the bloodflow and get the man to a hospital, but the railroad was unwilling to assist the man, and apparently did not allow the doctor or even its own employees to get one of their trains to take him to a hospital. When the doctor was finally able to get him to one, via a Baltimore and Ohio RR train, it was too late and the man died shortly after being admitted. The doctor explicitly mentions just how atrocious the railroad's treatment of non-employees injured by its trains was in his testimonial. 189407_464
Both: MWB 07 Apr 2008
1895
A 23-year-old male employed by the B&O Railroad Company died when he was struck by a rock that rolled down a hill adjacent to the track on which he was working. There had been a landslide in this area a short time earlier and the deceased and some other men were sent to shovel the dirt off of the train tracks. According to one of his co-workers, the man was in a stooping positing when the rock struck him. There was no description of the size of the rock in the file, but one witness said the deceased was thrown between ten and fifteen feet upon impact. He was knocked unconscious and then revived at the scene, but died in the hospital. 189501_336
TG 07 Apr 2008
1918
A Russian man and a Slavic man were both killed when they were struck and run over by a train near Hoboken, PA. I would think that at least one of them should have heard or saw the train coming unless they were severly intoxicated, but there is no evidence of this being the case becuase the bodies were not found for some time after their deaths.
191803-265 and 191803-266
AFS 11 June 2008
1926
By 1926 the number of railroad occupation deaths seems to have declined, at least to some degree. It is possible by this time that all the rail cars had been refitted with Westinghouse air brakes; brakemen were no longer dying from falling off the roofs of trains in motion. They were still dying from being crushed between cars during the coupling process, mostly when coupling cars that utilized "link and pin" couplers. This consisted of a tube-like body that received an oblong link. During coupling, a railroad worker had to stand between the cars as they came together and guide the link into the coupler pocket. Once the cars were joined, the employee then inserted a pin into a hole a few inches from the end of the tube to hold the link in place. This procedure was exceptionally dangerous and many brakemen could lose fingers or entire hands when they did not get their hands out of the way of the coupler pockets. The inquest reports clearly show that many more were killed as a result of being crushed between cars or dragged under cars that were coupled too quickly.
As with the introduction of the Westinghouse air brake, a safer system did exist. The Janney (semi)automatic coupler had been patented in 1873 but it was expensive, and although the Pennsylvania Railroad was supposed to have adopted the Janney system in the 1870s, the inquest reports make it clear that the link and pin system continued in widespread use, just as the old-fashioned braking systems did, long after the federal government had made both systems mandatory by law. The Safety Appliance Act passed by Congress in 1893 made it unlawful for railways to permit any car used for interstate commerce that was not equipped with couplers which coupled automatically by impact, and which could be uncoupled without the necessity for men going in between the ends of the cars, to be hauled on their lines after the first of January, 1898. The limit was extended to the first of August, 1900, by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The inquest reports make clear, however, that the railroads violated these safety laws for years thereafter, although even limited usage of the coupler had dramatic safety benefits. Following is an excerpt from Wikipedia regarding the implementation Janney knuckle coupler:
"In 1893, satisfied that an automatic coupler could meet the demands of commercial railroad operations and, at the same time, be manipulated safely, the United States Congress passed the Safety Appliance Act. Its success in promoting switchyard safety was stunning. Between 1877 and 1887, approximately 38% of all railworker accidents involved coupling. That percentage fell as the railroads began to replace link and pin couplers with automatic couplers. By 1902, only two years after the SAA's effective date, coupling accidents constituted only 4% of all employee accidents. Coupler-related accidents dropped from nearly 11,000 in 1892 to just over 2,000 in 1902, even though the number of railroad employees steadily increased during that decade."
Thus it would appear that even though there were still many deaths due to coupling/uncoupling accidents, there would have been many, many more had no changes whatsoever been made. It would be interesting to find studies that showed adoption of the new couplers by railroad, and compare for example the Pennsylvania RR to the Baltimore and Ohio RR. It is a fairly safe bet that smaller roads, especially those who were financially healthy such as the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie or Bessemer Railroads, were quicker to make these changes as they owned significantly less rolling stock than the Pennsylvania RR for example. While there is of course no data to back this hypothesis up, it is certainly a potential reason behind this scenario.
Late 1920s
With the exception of industrial sites, it seems that the majority of the railroad deaths in the late 1920s involved passenger trains. There were still incidents regarding workers falling off of cars, but in cases where people were run over and the type of train in specified, it is typically a passenger train. Street car accidents still occurred, only instead of hitting pedestrians they were hitting automobiles.
ZB 03 Oct 2007
1930s
Cases 193208_127 and _128 involved two fatalities following a boiler explosion on the B&O RR's "Capitol Limited," train #5 running from D.C. to Chicago. There were detailed reports and photos of the locomotive. When the boiler exploded it killed the engineer and fireman, but barely jolted the rest of the train, which simply rolled to a stop. One of the conductors commented in the ICC railroad commission investigation that the passengers would only have been woken up by the explosion if they were light sleepers. Apparently the explosion was caused by the failure of the Elesco Exhaust Steam Injector, leading to Crown Sheet Failure when low water levels led to overheating.
1954
Case 195412_161 involves the beam of a crane falling on a man, fracturing his skull and killing him at the B&O Railroad Terminal. This case had three important testimonials taken from a nearby co-worker, the yard foreman, and the crane operator. The operator was unable to see under the load the crane was carrying and received a signal to lower the load, which crushed this man. The story was collaborated by the foreman and a co-worker, and the incident was ruled an accident.
AP 21 Jan 2008
1959
In January of that year, a couple was killed when their car, driven by the husband was hit by the Pennsylvania Railroad's Kiski Local passenger train at Grant Street in Verona. This incident is interesting primarily because of the scenario. According to witnesses, the vehicle was third in line at the crossing as the lights were flashing, when the vehicle suddenly pulled out and attempted to cross the tracks, but instead went right into the path of the train. Weather conditions at the time were dark. This situation might imply that the reason behind the accident was a possible combination of the driver getting impatient, and possibly another train sitting on an adjacent track which may have blocked the driver's view of the train which struck his car. This scenario is certainly not an uncommon cause of crossing accidents even today. 195901.181-195901_182.
MWB 30 Jan 2008
An unknown man approximately 60 years of age was found dead in the Allegheny River, floating between the 7th and 9th St bridges. The only clue pertaining to his origin is a railroad cap that he still clutched in his hand. There was so much railroad track around the vicinity of Pittsburgh that it would be very difficult to discern where this victim came from. I have heard that bodies only float after they have been submerged for a certain period of time, so he could have been carried a great distance away from his scheduled route. The lack of detail about this man does not make the image of his demise any less striking. Did the victim's disappearance go completely unreported by his employers? 195910_45.
RB 18 Feb 2008
1960
A man died after being struck by a B&O freight train close to where the railroad crossed over Bates Street in Oakland. According to the engineer, he saw the man a ways off, walking in between the double-tracked railroad line, and blew his whistle so as to warn the man of the train's presence. Upon hearing the whistle, the man hopped onto the track adjacent to the one occupied by the train, but just as the train was about to pass him, walked back into the train's path. He was immediately struck and hurled to the side of the tracks.
This is an interesting case because the man was clearly aware of the train's presence. The jury, the coroner, and the railroad all ruled the death to be accidental, however it seems to me as though this may have been a suicide, since the man seems to have purposely walked into the train's path. Beyond the man second-guessing himself and trying at the last second to get over the tracks before the train did, it would seem as though this is the more likely conclusion. 196006_199.
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MWB 13 Feb 2008
The following month another man was killed by a B&O freight train, this one at the 16th Street crossing on the South Side, almost directly across the river from the above-named accident location. This was another case of a pedestrian on the right-of-way. The victim, however, did not appear to be aware of the train's presence, and according to witnesses appears to have walked into the side of the consist. There was also no walkway for pedestrians at this location, nor were there any sort of roadways for automobiles. Locomotive #4005 was on the point of this train. It should also be noted that while the train was B&O, it was travelling on trackage rights over the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR (identified in the case file as New York Central RR, the parent company of the P&LE at this time). Curiously enough, officials from both the Pennsylvania and B&O Railroads were present for the investigation. 196007_49.
MWB 15 Feb 2008
A 65-year-old woman was struck by train while crossing tracks. A man witnessed this while sitting in his car on the opposite side of the tracks. He tried to yell and warn her that the train was coming but she never responded. Crossing signals clearly indicated a train was coming, but it was unknown as to how she did not notice it. 196008_116.
AP 22 Feb 2008
1961
A porter on the Pennsylvania Railroad died several hours after the car in which he was working caught on fire thirteen miles east of Altoona. The man was initially administered medical care by a RR doctor, and was sent home to his residence in Bellevue. After complaining of weakness and burning in his lungs he went to bed, and later woke up coughing violently. The family physician was called and tried to remedy the situation, but the man expired shortly thereafter. 196110_51.
MWB 22 Feb 2008
1962
In May of this year, a 41-year-old white male, employed as a conductor by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, died as a result of being crushed between a railroad baggage car and the loading platform. The victim was rolled between the car and platform more than four or five times before stopping. His arms were pinned around his chest and shoulders, his feet hanging six inches from the ground. According to one witness, blood and bodily fluids seeped from his nose and mouth. The file contained no clear explanation of how the victim came to be between the railroad car and the platform. 196205_96.
TG 29 Feb 2008
1963
A 7-year-old boy was killed when the car he was presumably riding was struck by a train in Burgettstown, Washington County. For some reason there is scant documentation accompanying this case file, to the point where it is impossible to ascertain what railroad company was operating the train or even who was operating the vehicle. 196311_122.
MWB 6 Mar 2008
1964
A man of "about 65 years of age" died after being struck by a Baltimore and Ohio train at 2332 Second Avenue, in the vicinity of where the main line crossed under the Parkway in Hazelwood. The affadvait from the flagman, who was riding on the caboose, states that the train was backing up at this location when he saw the victim walking along the tracks, and also that it was dusk and the condition under the bridge was not unlike being in a tunnel. He shouted a warning at the man, put his spotlight on him, lit a fuse and put the train into emergency, but the victim, who was wearing dark clothing at the time, apparently did not notice as he was reportedly walking with his head down. The train, which apparently consisted of three engines (#4549 was the engine manned at the time) and a caboose was heading West on the East mainline at 15-20 m.p.h. toward the crossovers at Second Avenue at the time of the accident. 196412_213.
MWB 13 Mar 2008
1970
A 48-year-old black man died of "transection of body." He was sitting on the railroad tracks as a train was coming. The train blew its whistle to warn him to move and begin hitting its brakes. His foot was apparently stuck in the rail as he struggled to get away, but was unable to. The train hit him and traveled about 600 feet before coming to a stop. His body was found about 50 feet from the point of impact, under the 12th car of the train. His head and thorax were found under the front wheels of the car, his abdomen and lower extremities were found 13 feet back in the middle of the tracks under the car. 197011_96.
AP March 2008
1971
An engineer for the Monongahela Connecting Railroad died after having his legs cut off his own train, operated by the fireman, which he had disembarked to either investigate someone who was seen lying on the tracks, or relieve himself; the circumstances page of the report and witness accounts conflict here. Paperwork includes witness reports from the fireman and other crewmembers, and letters to the Coroner's Office from a J&L Steel Physician, a Monongahela Connecting RR Claims Agent, and an attorney. The death was ruled accidental. It is worth mentioning that the fireman was apparently operating a steam locomotive; it was not uncommon for steel mills and other industries to have not dieselized, even this late in the century. Additionally, the Monongahela Connecting Railroad, along with the Aliquippa and Southern and Cuyahoga Valley Railroads existed as subsidiaries of J&L and later LTV Steel, committed to serving the steelmaking plants of those firms alone. 197105_165.
MWB 24 Mar 2008
A worker at the David Joseph Co. Scrapyard in East Butler died from Gram Negative Sepsis after losing his legs due to falling underneath a moving railroad car. According to the coroner's report, the man was rushed to the VA Hospital, where he had an emergency amputation for gangrene on his legs and massive blood loss. In addition to the aforementioned cause of death, renal and abdominal failure are also cited as factors. This scrapyard must have been a small affair since there is no apparent correspondence from the firm to the coroner. 197107_18.
MWB 26 Mar 2008
1973
A 19-year-old Etna boy died at St. Francis Hosptial after being was struck by a Penn Central train along the Allegheny River not far from his place of residence. Official causes of death were multiple craniocerebral, chest, pelvic, and extremities injuries. According to the coroner's report, the boy and two friends were making their way across the 7-track Etna Yard at milepost 73 around midnight, and were en route to a party by the river. Judging by the toxicology report, the victim had been drinking. One of the boys made it across, and reported that when he looked back after the train passed, he only saw one of his friends. The engineer was reportedly unaware that he had even hit the boy, according to railroad detectives, though he did hear a "thump", and after putting the train into emergency, inspected the train along with the conductor. Believing that they had hit a dog, they then proceeded west. It appears as though they did not realize they had hit a person until they reached Conway yard, which is located much further downriver, past Sewickley and Ambridge. At the time of the initial report, the coroner's office through the railroad detectives was still trying to ascertain the number and consist of the train, which turned about to be train ZSY-1. The office also reported receiving little cooperation from the boy's friends, as one of them was not giving testimony following advice by his attorney. Finally, it is worth mentioning that trespassing was evidently a big problem in this area, as railroad detectives had made several arrests in the same location in the past. 197307_115.
MWB 03 Apr 2008
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