Railway Accidents; their Cause, and Means of Prevention. By Captain MARK HUISH, Assoc. Inst. C. E. Edited by Charles Manby, M. Inst. C. E., Secretary.* In entering upon the subject of this paper, it is unnecessary to occupy time in demonstrating the fact, that compared with its results, whether as regards the ease and celerity of transit, or the facility of conveying numbers, railway traveling, even in its present state, is incomparably safer than any previously designed system of locomotion. Contrasting the mere numbers transported from one locality to another, in the present day, by railways, with those conveyed by coaches during their most active period, the ratio of safety is indubitably in favor of the former; while if the difference of speed is imported into the consideration, the value of the immunity from accident, in the case of railways, is considerably enhanced. Even at the present time, when railway traveling has superseded all other modes of inland communication, it is doubtful whether the contingencies attending conveyance by horses in this kingdom, embracing in that category the omnibus traffic, do not annually exceed in amount the casualties on railways, and it has even been asserted, on apparently sufficient data, that the accidents to pedestrians in a given period would still leave railway managers in a position to point with satisfaction to the superiority of their system, on the score of safety. The attention which has latterly been paid to the statistics of railways, and the periodical publication of the Government returns, direct public attention very pointedly to the aggregate of accident, in a manner which has not been attempted in any other department, and tend to fix a degree of responsibility, and to cast an amount of odium, which have not attached to less prominent and perhaps less useful adaptations of science and discovery. Were the casualties to steamboats as carefully chronicled, and the deaths in mining as elaborately tabulated, or were even the fact of a British vessel being wrecked on each tide throughout the year, as generally known, the public would view more justly the occurrence under the railway system, of those contingencies, which, even under the most perfect management, must ever accompany the arrangements of fallible man; while, however, it is pleaded in behalf of one of the greatest inventions of the nineteenth century, that due regard must be had to comparative results; and while it cannot be denied, that but little consideration has been exhibited, either by the public, or the press, and still less sympathy been shown, during the difficulties under which the railways of Great Britain have struggled into their present position, it is not contended, either that the system has yet attained the degree of perfection and consequent safety of which it is susceptible, or that it has in all cases been administered in the most judicious manner. Experience is daily adding to the knowledge of the dangers which in an infinite variety of occult forms, necessarily attach to the momentum of high speeds, and this experience is constantly suggesting fresh precautions and means of prevention. To detail as briefly as possible some of the prominent causes of accident, and to explain the measures adopted * Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., April 27th, 1852.-London Railway Journal, No. 700. for securing the safety of the public (the paramount and primary duty of railway management), is the subject of the present paper. Without further preliminary remark, therefore, the first point of interest is the road, and the contingencies connected with it, embracing the very important subject of the permanent way. A firm, substantial, and well kept road is undoubtedly the basis of all safety in railway traveling, and with the heavy and increasing traffic now passing over the iron highways of Great Britain, it requires the most incessant vigilance (especially since the speed of the trains has been increased) to maintain the way in the condition which is essential for the safety of the passengers and the economy of the rolling stock. As the intervals between trains become less frequent, as the speed of traveling is accelerated, and as the heavy merchandise traffic, which promises to form, ere long, the most important feature in the receipts of many lines, increases, the repairs become greater, and at the same time more difficult to carry on. It is not intended in these brief remarks, to enter on the very extensive field of "permanent way," especially as it is a subject so familiar to the members of the society, but the experience of the author leads him to the conclusion, that even more attention than has hitherto been given to this fundamental question, must be devoted to it in future, or the theories which have been constructed, and the practice based upon them, will be found to fail. Improvements are continually introduced for the purpose of obtaining a sound continuous road, and there is no doubt that the recognised evils will eventually point out their own. remedy. Fishing the rails is now a popular and, as far as partial experience can determine, an efficient mode of strengthening a railway, for the increased traffic it has to bear. Other measures, having the same object in view, are in course of experiment, and stone blocks are generally being rejected in favor of wooden sleepers. Heavier rails, with shorter bearings, are gradually being introduced wherever relaying has become necessary, and engineers are fully sensible that a road constructed to support moderate trains, drawn by light engines at low speeds, is utterly inadequate to endure the crushing effects of monster locomotives at express speeds. The defects of lamination, deflexion, and splitting of the rails are rapidly increasing; whilst transverse fractures (a species of failure almost unknown a few years ago) are now of frequent occurrence; and the difficulty of maintaining the gauge of the line, under the present weights, not only increases, but much of the oscillating motion which is so unpleasant to the traveler, and so destructive to the stock employed, must be attributed to the same cause. Requiring, as railways do, superior rails to bear the increased strain now thrown upon them, it is painful to observe that, instead of keeping pace with the necessities of the case, the rail-makers have allowed their production to deteriorate very greatly; indeed, the utmost caution is now required in the purchase of rails: with every security afforded by name and standing in the trade, the greatest disappointments are daily arising, and the result promises to be very serious, unless instant measures are adopted by the principal makers, to retrieve their characters in this respect. Many of the rails recently supplied have shown symptoms of failure at an unusually early period, and are, in many instances, in a worse condi VOL. XXV.-THIRD SERIES.-No. 2.-FEBRUARY, 1853. 9 tion, after two or three years' wear, than old and much lighter rails which have been subjected to precisely the same duty for twelve to sixteen years. So grave has the aspect of this matter become, and so general has been the complaint, that one railway Company has come to the determination of rolling its own rails, and has given instructions for erecting works for the purpose. Under all the disadvantages, however, to which allusion has been made, it is, after all, remarkable how very few accidents have arisen from a defective state of the road itself. The circumstance of a train running off the line is very rare, and when such an event does occur, it may generally be attributed to some palpable neglect of the platelayers, to some defect in the machinery, or to some obstructions designedly placed on the line. The latter is unhappily a very fertile source of danger, and one against which, where a morbid desire to inflict injury guides the miscreant hand, it is very difficult indeed to guard. It is little known how frequent, how ingenious, and how varied these attempts have become, and although, from the vigilance exercised, and from fortunate and providential causes, the real damage effected has been far less than could have been supposed, it is lamentable to think, that in addition to the ordinary risks of rapid locomotion, it should be necessary to guard continually against so diabolical a mode of wreaking a petty vengeance, or of gratifying a mischievous disposition. Numerous instances might be given which would excite surprise from the cunning design exhibited, and the care apparently exercised in selecting a spot likely to be fraught with the greatest amount of mischief; but the detail would occupy too much space. One only, and that the latest attempt of this kind, may be mentioned:-A few weeks ago, upon a branch line in Lancashire, the points of an important siding were jammed open, and in order to prevent the signal-man from averting the intended accident, the wire of the auxiliary signal was lashed with a piece of string, and was thus prevented from acting. Happily, however, by a fortuitous circumstance, the villany was discovered a few minutes before the passenger train approached. It has been customary, when such attempts have been made, to offer a considerable reward for the discovery of the perpetrators. It is questionable, however, whether setting a patient watch, and establishing a careful inquiry throughout the neighborhood, are not more effectual means of tracing the culprit. Considerable success has certainly attended this course, while there is, it is believed, no instance of a voluntary statement for the purpose of securing the reward. The punishment for this class of offences has recently been made more severe, and although it is not to be expected that they should altogether cease, it is hoped that they may become less frequent. The alternations of weather in a climate so variable as England, have a material influence on the permanent way, and on any great and sudden change, either to heavy rain, after lengthened drought, or to a rapid thaw, after continued frost, increased watchfulness is necessary on the part of the upholders of the road, and the engine-drivers and guards. It is at such periods that the weak points in a road show themselves; a sudden relaxation of the line seems at once to take place, and unless counteracted by vigilant attention, great danger must result. The rapid development of general traffic on all the main arterial lines in the kingdom, and the transfer to them of much of the heavy trade which was formerly carried on by canals, have caused a very great extension of siding accommodation, and this, by multiplying the points and crossings in the main line, has pro tanto increased the risk attending them. Anything which breaks the continuity of the rails is necessarily an evil, and tends in a certain degree to develop danger; and as these frequent "turns out" cannot be avoided on a line of heavy traffic, the railway manager is compelled to rely on regulations and signals, and to that extent is obliged to incur the additional hazard which attends the employment of officials, from whose neglect, or want of discretion, the most fatal consequences may at any moment arise. On the London and North Western Railway, the increase of siding, during the last few years, amounts to 53 miles. In laying down these sidings, one very fertile source of danger has, however, been considerably reduced. "Facing points" were formerly common and numerous, they are now rarer, and although at the junctions of branches, and in some peculiar positions, they cannot be altogether abolished, no railway manager will rest contented while one of these points is allowed, unnecessarily, to remain upon his line. In connexion with this subject, allusion may be made to self-acting switches. Useful as this invention has proved, it has been attended with concomitant evils of no trifling magnitude, and many accidents have occurred from a reliance upon them. They require constant vigilance to secure their being kept clean and well oiled, and it is very difficult to insure proper attention being always paid to them. It may indeed be remarked, as a general rule, that so far from machinery being a means of safety (when used for superseding personal inspection and manipulation), it is usually a source of increased danger, and the numerous clever contrivances and complicated arrangements which are so continually submitted to the examination and opinion of railway men, though evidencing the ingenuity and industry of the projectors, are generally valueless as practical means of operation. The greatest simplicity in every thing connected with the road and the signals upon it will provide the nearest approach to security, and in proportion as such simplicity is departed from, it is probable that a practical good will be sacrificed, in endeavoring to attain a theoretic excellence. In concluding this branch of the subject, it may be repeated, that fewer accidents to life and property arise from the road than from any other cause, and were casualties confined to those attributable to "the way," the annals of railway accidents would be scanty in the extreme. The next question of interest is the "locomotive"-that extraordinary invention, which has already changed and ameliorated the whole surface of society, and which is destined to work still greater revolutions in the social fabric of the world. The increased power and capacity, the more perfect finish of the various working parts of the engine, and the general improvements in form and proportions, which have been gradually introduced, have rendered far less frequent than heretofore, those delays and irregularities which are always attended with inconvenience, if not with danger; yet it would be too much to expect immunity from casualties to so elaborate and so severely tested a machine, and though the parts have been greatly strengthened in every respect, the improvement does not appear to more than meet the greater demands on its powers, in consequence of the increased loads and speeds which are now adopted. The variety of mishaps to which a locomotive is liable will be seen from the following table, containing the causes of one thousand failures on the London and North Western Railway. This return spreads over a lengthened period, comprises every description of defect, and is given for the purpose of proportion only. ANALYSIS of 1000 cases of engine failures and defects, occurring on the London and North Western and subsidiary Railways. 157 Burst and leaky tubes. 92 Broken springs. 89 Broken valve-spindles. STOCK OF ENGINES, 587. 77 Broken and defective pumps. 48 Broken feed pipes. 40 Broken piston rods and pistons. 34 Broken and damaged valves and valvular apparatus. 34 Lost and broken bolts and pins, (vari ous.) 34 Fire bars burnt out. 31 Lost and broken cotters, (various.) 29 Plugs and joints blown out. 25 Broken and lost eccentric straps. 21 Broken wheels and tyres. 21 Broken and bent coupling and connecting rods. 17 Broken sponge boxes. 17 Broken and bent eccentric rods. 15 Broken and shifted eccentric shafts. 13 Broken and damaged steam and suc- 13 Broken and defective reversing le vers. 11 Broken connecting rod straps. 11 Broken middle bearings. 9 Broken spring bearings, screws and buckles. 8 Broken lifting links. 904 Carried forward. 904 Brought forward. 7 Broken blow-off and other cocks. 6 Lost and loose regulator spindles. 5 Broken stay in fire boxes. 5 Detached ash-pans. 3 Smoke box and chimney end on fire. 3 Broken brackets of weigh bar shafts. 3 Feed pipes stopped up, dropped fire. 3 Broken spring balances. 3 Broken slide blocks. 3 Broken crank rods." 3 Tubes drawn in (Chimney end.) 3 Broken axle boxes. 3 Broken slide valves. 3 Broken right hand bearings. 3 Broken glands. 3 Defective hose pipes. 3 Broken piston rings. Broken brakes. 2 Lost quadrant washers. 2 Broken brasses of driving journals. 2 Broken studs of link motion. 2 Broken catches of fire bars. 2 Broken glass tubes. 1 Nut off tender draw-bar. 1 Broken tender eye bolt. 1 Boiler burst. 1000 Gross total. It would be interesting to know how far this return coincides with the results on other railways, because, were somewhat similar ratios evolved, the knowledge of the proportions would direct the special attention of locomotive superintendents to the necessity of guarding more particularly against casualties of most frequent occurrence. It will be observed that burst and leaky tubes nearly double any other class of failure, and that these with broken springs and broken valves amount to one-third of the entire number. Very few, indeed, of the above failures are attended with any direct danger to the public, but as producing a temporary, or permanent inability of the engine to carry on its train, may be the remote cause of collision. |