1390 INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF SAFETY IN RE IN­ VESTIGATION OF AN ACCIDENT TflHICH OCCURRED ON THE CHICAGO, SOUTH SHORE AND SOUTH BEND RAILROAD AT PARSONS, ILL., ON JANUARY 1, 1938 March. 13, 1928. To the Commission: On January 1, 1938, there was a rear-end col­ lision between two passenger trains on the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad at Parsons, 111., resulting in the death of 1 employee and the injury of 48 passengers. This accident was investigated m conjunction with a representative of the Comneroe Commission of Illinois. Location and method of operation This accident occurred on that part of the rail­ road extending between Chicago, 111., and Gary, Ind., a distance of 30.8 miles, m the immediate vicinity of the point of accident this is a double-track electric line, over which trains are operated by tine-table and train orders, no Tabck-signal system oeinn in use. Under a tine- table rule, trains moving m the seme direction axe re­ quired to keep at least three minutes apart, except m closing up at stations. The accident occurred about 900 feet east of 130th Street, near the station at Parsons, a suburb of Chicago; approaching this point from the west the track is tangent for more tnan 1 mile, followed by a 3° curve to the left about 1,900 feet m length, the acci­ dent occurring on this curve at a point about 1,600 feet from its western end. The grade is level. Except for a line of poles on the inside of the curve, the view approach­ ing Parsons is unobstructed for a distance of about 3,000 feet, although from that distance it can not be definitely determined upon which track a train is standing. KD tele­ graph office, of the Michigan Central Railroad, is located just south of the tracks of the Chicago South Shore end South Bend Railroad and about 100 feet east of the western end of the curve on which the accident occurred. The weather was clear and cold at the time of the accident, which occurred at about 3.05 p.m. Description Eastbound first-class passenger t r a m No. 17 con­ sisted of motor 13 and trailer 203, botn of steel construc­ tion, and was m charge of Conductor Farquhar m d Motorman Powers. It left Randolph Street, Chicago, at 2 p.m , on time, but after proceeding a short distance it was de­ layed by motor trouble and assistance was requested, the trouble cleared up before assistance arrived, however, and the t r a m proceeded. It left Kensington, 2.2 mil as from Parsons, at 3 p.m., 37 minutes late, was flagged in the immediate vicinity of KD telegraph office, and then moved ahead and was brought to a stop a short distance h e m n d train No. 71, the motor of m i e n had become disabled while standing at the station at Parsons. Eastbound second-cla.ss passenger train No. 73 consisted of motors 10, 14 and 102, all of steal construc­ tion, end was m charge of Conductor Ritchie and. Mo to m a n Stafford; motors 10 and 14 had been sent oat for the purpose of assisting trams Nos. 71 and 17. T r a m No. 73 departed from Kensington at 3.02 p.m., eight minutes late end only two minutes behind tramNo. 17, passed the flagman of that t r a m , and collided witn tne rear end of trean No. 17 while traveling at a speed variously estimated to have been be­ tween 15 and 50 miles per hour. T r a m No. 17 was driven ahead and into tne rear of t r a m No. 71, the rear end of the trailer of t m in No. 17 coming to rest about 375 feat m advance of There it was standing when the accident occurred, separated from the head end of t r ^ m No. 73 by a distance of .proximately 150 feet. The last pair of wheels of the rear truck of the trailer m t r a m No. 17 were the only wheels to b e d=- r rile A. Motor 10 m t r a m No. 73 had its front vestibule demolished and the motor caught fire, this tram 1 as moved back to Kensington, in an endeavor to have the fire es- tmguishod, but all of the motor was consumed ™ith tne exception of its steel framework. Many of the seats m the first two trams were torn loose, the rear vestibule of the trailer was demolished and the cars were other­ wise damaged. The enployee killed was the motoman of t r a m No. 73. - 3 * Sumr/'ary of evidence Conductor Guyer, of t r a m Ho. 71, 3 .ad ho had relieved Oollectoi Clou,0h o^ + lre du oy of flag-mg, on account of the extreme cold, m d Collector Clough tnen went to KD telegraph of "ice to get vweim. Jfucn h'un Ho. 17 approached, Conductor Guyor flogged it fron a point near the western end of the curve, the t r u n slowed donn and Conductor Guyer and Collector Glougn hoarded it and rode on it until it was brougnt to a stop a feu- foot be­ hind t r a m No. 71. It was the intention to have t m i n No. 17 couple to the reai of t r a m No. 71 out befoie tnis could be done Conductm Gayer heara tne motornawn of tr u n No. 73 sound the vnistla, apparently for the crossing at 130th Street. Conductor Guyer tron walked across tne track and saw train No. 73 m e n IT. C '.IO vitnm sight, moving at a speed, of about 45 or 50 miles per hour. Realising that a collision T ras imminent, he shouted a warning of danger, tne accident occurring shortly after­ wards, at w m c u t m e the speed of t r i m No. 73 nr is about 40 miles per hour. Conductor Guyer further stated that when he gave the naming of danger he saw Collector Payne, of t r a m No, 17, who nad gone back to flag, about a pole length east of 130th Street, but he did not hear tne motorman of t r a m No. 73 answer the flagging signals of Collector Payne, and he was not able to say whotner the air brakes on t r a m No. 73 v/er"1 ^pnlicd. Conductor Guyer estimated that t r a m No. 17 had only been standing a minute or so when tno accident occurred. Collector Clougn, of train No, 71, s t a t e d tnat wnen train No. 17 was flagged by Conductor Guya^ he went out of KD telegraph office and boarded the rear end of the first car, and that Collector Payne, of train No. 17, got off about half-way betwem 130th Street and Po^oae, \ hile train No. 17 was m motion, and started back to flag. Collector Clough d m not iienr the motorman of tr a n No. 73 sound any whistle signal when it approached, being in between trains Nos. 71 and 17 preparatory to coupling them together, Motorman Powers, of t r a m No. 17 c u d that his t r a m was proceeding at a speed of about 45 or 50 rules per hour when it vis flagged m the vicinity of KD telegraph office and that he slowed down and picked up Conductor Guyer :nd Collector Clougn, of t r a m No. 71, and continued around the curve at a speed of between 10 and 15 miles per hour. On reaenmg a point about tnree mole lengtns from the rear of t r a m No. 71, while t r i m No. 17 win still in motion; Motorman Powers whistled out a flag and. then brought tram Wo. 17 to a stor about 5 feet benind t r a m No. 71. Motor- man Powers tnen got dogn &n £hc ground and started ahead to find Mo to m a n Fr^5/^rt1rjino:0pr^o(»odpd only about half the distance between the motonsen's compartments oi the tuo trains wher ho heard Conductor GS-uyex snout a warning of danger, Liotorman Powers turned around and sa 7 t r a m No. 73 coming around the curve at a speed of about 40 miles per hour, close to 1 3 0 m Street, at which ctae Collector Payne was giving stop signals iron a point just east of 130th Street. He tnought the accident occurr­ ed not more thmr one and one-half minutes after trait No. 17 had been brought to a stop. Motorman Powers furtner stated tnat the air brakes on m s train had been tested at the Randolph Street terminal and that ne could 1.01 c onto] a m ^s to the ;vay m ^ n c n they ope ranted on tnis trio any -lore than that ice and sno^ on the brake sh->es did not permit the taking of any extra c h o i c e s , Motorman Powers also snid tnat he could not t3ll whether the air brakes were applied on train No. 73 prior to the accident, he did not hear any squeaking of the brakes at that trie, but he could sec that tne speed oi tno t r a m had been checked to so.ie ex cent, estimating it to have been aoout 15 ales ncr hour at the ci.ne of the accident. After the accident Motorman Foyers went back as far 1 s 120th Street, lookin^ at the rails, but he said that tnere was no indication of the Y/heols navrng been sliding. Conductor Farquhar, of t r i m Uo. 17, thought his t r a m left Kensington at 2.57 p.m., and said that when n e a r m g Parsons a. flag wis whistled out and Collector Payne dropped, off and started back to flig before his t r a m came to ^ stop. Just after tne t i a m stopped Conductor G-uyer, of train No. 71, shouted a warning of danger and Conductor Farquhar, /ho tnen vas standing on the station platform, looked back and saw Collector Payne going Dock as rapidly as possible, .vnile tiain No.73 had about reached the vs close to him and tnen stepped off the track, on the notorrren'• side, continuing t^ - lve stop signals from a point just east of 150th Street crossing end about 750 feat from the rear of his 0,711 train.Collector Payne said that ho saw a part of Ifotor an Stafford's hcr-d through that part of tne window fnr which the frost had been cleaned off, a space about 4 x 6 lncues m size, and that tne notorrian was looking toward the couth. Collector Payne said that am t r a m JM>. 73 crossed ISOtn Street tne notorman turned around and saw hi 1, and he thought the motoman looked as if he were frig-tened. When t r a m N^. 73 passed h m , at a speea of about 45 iiles por iou.r, there 7iras no indication that the air brakes had been applied. Conductor Ritchie, of t r a m No. 73, stated that just as his t r a m was about to leave Randolph Street as a one-car t r a m he was notified that t ;o more rioters were to be coupled to the train, due to the fact that tr. m No. 17 u s disabled at 12th Street and train N^. 71 wa, disubl, 1 at Kensington; tne two extra motors were to be used to assist tlmse t r a m s provided tney die" not bec^e onorative -6- before train No. 73 readied the1-. Conductor Ritchie said that he notified llotormnn Stafford to the situation. Approaching 12th Street, Conductor Ritchie sav tr m No. 17 pulling tut and he therefore went forward to the motor- man's compartment ard called Motor-un Stafford's attention to tha fact that t r u n Ho. 17 was going and m conversation with the motorman it wan a g n v d tn^t t r ^ m No. 17 probably would shove trim No. 71 into clou. After departing from Kensington at about 3.03 p.m. tha t r a m proceeded at the normal speed, about 40 or 45 miles per hour, he neard the whistle sounded for 130th Street and tne first intimation he had of anytnmg firong was wnon ho felt a service applica­ tion of the air-brakes as tne train approacted prisons. His train then ;ao about at 130tu Street, and on looking out on the left sida of the cai in win ion ne was riding, ho saw a train standing on the curve but could not defmicoly deter­ mine u.icther it was t r a m Wo. 17 or a t i a m standing on tne westbound tr^ck; the accident occurred about 10 seconds after the air brakes had been applied, at wtucn time tne speed was about 40 miles per hour. Conductor Ritcme furtner stated that the brakes on t r a m No. 7 3 were tested at Randolph Street and tnat ill station stops down to and in­ cluding Kensington were made perfectly, and as far as he kne^ the air brakes functioned properly. It also rp .eared from nis statements tiat wren ne was m the motorman1 o compartment at Kensington he noticed tint the lndo^s were covereu witn frost and flat a small sp^ce had bean cleared of frost m crdar to enable the motorman to see ahead. The state ants of Collector Miller, of t i a m No. 73, brotgnt out nothm- additional of 1 iportmcc. Operator Ward, of the Michigan Centr 1 Railroad, on duty at KD telegraph office, stated that Tt;cn Conductor Guy or was picked up by t r a m No. 17, Collector Payne looked out from the rear end of that train but thtt tha collector dia not get off ind go back to flag until t r a m No. 17 had stopped m back nf t r a m No. 71. Tie collector taen started back to flag, and Operator Ward said that ne rent oack be­ tween three and four pole-lengtns and gave step signals to the motorman of train No. 73, which signals the operator said were acknowledged. Apparently tne brakes were applied at the same t m e , but the sp^ed of t r a m No. 73 appeared to have been reduced only to a slignt extent prior to the accident, and Operatoi Ward expressed tne opinion that tho wheels were sliding. Sngmeer of C^i Equipment Otis stated tnat tne air-brake equipment cn the motor c:rs is connncted. to the nastcr-cortrollor handle by means of a Pilot valve m such a /ay that should the operator's nand be re ioved fror tne master-controller nandle, the handle will auto ictically go to tne raised position, causing tha power to be chut off and the air brakes to bo applied m emergency. _ 7 - Conclusions Tins ao iiclenc vss caused by the failure of Con­ ductor Farcuhur and Collector Payne, of train No. 17, to afford proper protection to tlie rod end of their t r a m , u n c i by the ih i lure of Llotormnn St if fori, of train No. 73, to m a m t a m a proper watch of the track ahead of nis train. Both Conduced Farquhar and Collector P vyne .[new tnat t r a m jJc. 73 was behind their traa n at Kensington, and in view of the fact that no block-signal system was m use in the vicinity of tne point of accident and that following nave ie.it c weie required under the rules to be spaced only tnrei minutes ap L rt, it was obviously necessary that ColleCuOi P vyne leave 1ms t r a m and go back as quickly as he could m ord°r to provide such protection a,j was pos­ sible und a r tne existing opoimting con lit ions. Collector Pgync, however, di'1 not get off wncn the train reduced speed for tho purpose nf picking up tne flagnma of the pre­ ceding train, but according tc nis own statement he renam­ ed on tne tr.in until it had nearly reached tne p o u t at v.hich the accident afterwards oceuired, at wnich time a whistle signal w 1 s sounded for hir to protect tne train and he then got off and started back to flag. In viow of the high rates of speed "t wnich these trains are operated, the close headway permitted, the m e t that he knew train No. 73 was immediately b e n m d his train, and tne weather coiditions existing which resulted m windows being covared nth frost so as to interfere materially with the vteT, it was incumbent on Collector Payne to exercise unusual diligence m order to provide protection for nis train. Ho.a. he gotten off when his t i m m reduced speed for the ourpose of picking up the flagman of tne train she id, he could bmve gone o~ck far enough to hove provided enmole flag protection. The Michigan Central operator, however, s a m that Collector Payne did not get off until his t r m n had come to a stop at the point whore tuo "•ccidont occurred, if this actually wis the case tnen the failure of Collector Payne to use due diligence was even more pronounced. Conductor Faiqifnat knew that his train was apt to bo delayed at Pearsons, and he also knew that Collector P_nyne had not had a, great deal of experience; these circumstances should nave prompted m m to be particularly careful about warning Collector Payne to get off at tne point where tne flagman of the preceding tram was picxea up. He was primarily resnonsiole for tne protection of his t r a m and under all the circumstances it is policved he is equally at fault with Collector Payne. http://ie.it -3- JJo definite reason could be ascertained for the failure of Motorman Stafford to bring .us train to a stop in time to prevent the accident. All the evidence indi­ cated that the air brakes on the t m i n were m good work] i" order, while the view around the cuive was such that ne could have cecn tho two traina ahead for a distance of aVrnt 2,000 f ce t,although he could not then nave de­ termined on v,hion track those trams were standing. On the other hand, however, the evidence indicated that the ifficdo1 s on tne ends of the cais were covered witn frost, interfermg witn the viev, and tnat Motorman Stafford apparently had he d to dhar away tnis frost from a small space on nis window so as to enable him to have a view of the trick ane d of his tram. To what extent this condition prevented him from seeing the flagmm of train No. 17, or the re~r end of the t r : m itself, is a matter of conjecture, tent the fact iamunns tin.t if ha found his view was natcriully obscured ho should heave reduced spe^d accordingly. In eitner event, it seems clca.r tnat he d i d nit realize that theic was danger of an accident until within a comparatively snort distance of the re~r end of t r a m . 17, and it was than too late to avert the accident. Had an a de quanta block-signal system been m ase on this line, this accid-nt prooably would not nave occurred, an adequate automatic t r a m stop or t r a m control device vould nave prevented it. None of the employees I voiced had been or/duty m violation of any of tne provisions of the hours of ser­ vice lav, che motor lan a.nd co id-wctor of tr. m lib. 73 had be-ni on duty but 51 minutes aftar hawing been off duty more thhi 17 nours. Collector Payne was employed on July 1, 1927, \hile all of tne other employees involved nad been m tne service for periods ranging fra^ 1 year and 7 months to more than 19 yetrc. Respectfully suomitted, 7. P. BORLAND, Director, file:///hile