Document ZnJ2zMDDKaZ6b61zqNO5q16pp

394 Twenty-third .1 mutat Safety Cotu/rcss--Xational Safety Council During the Minuncr immills cjc junits may Ik unloosened, bars tappet] lightly with a maul, aiul again rettghtetted. Similarly, in cold weather. tight joints mav be opened up. S|ecial care should Ikt taken with j*iints where steel has been laid adjoining rail of lighter seclim. as there is a constant threat that the light rail may suddenly give way against the thrust *{ the heavier, more rugged track struc ture. Heaving track is a iamiliar phenomenon to most trackmen in the colder climates. Drainage will go a long way toward eliminating this jx$sfluliiy. There is scarcely a man in track work who docs not know that the various soil components, some of which are more retentive of moisture tlian others, cause track to heave both laterally and vertically. Such ]mints must he watched carefully, especially when the frost is going out, as the track does not always settle hack into position uniioroily. Under tlic head of precipitation comes snmv and rain. Doth arc a lane to the trackman and sujcrvi.s..r. Heavy and unexpected rain lias Iwen resiwnsible tor many a derailment. Only last year, on oik of our middle western railroads, there occurred a cloudlmrst, during which five and a half inches of rain fell in a period of three hours. A bridge under which there had not been more tlian three feet of water for twenty years was forced to withstand the onrush of a fitecn-f*ot flrod. Heavy rainfall is (to rvstKcter ' railroad property and adequate flow-ways must be provided. Narrow track shoulders should not he neglected. Wooden bridge ends subject to wash slmuld Ik riprap?xd. A careful cysteni of lank widening should Ik carried forward yearly. Refuse at the end of cuts should Ik eliminated and the ended material dug away. Adequate drainage in all cases In- means of pmjKr sewers *t ditches must Ik provided. Ditches in all cases must Ik deep enough and with sufficient gradient nut only to earn* away the surface water rapidly hut to drain as much as possible of the sub soil as well. Water-pockets in fills constructed of clay materials offer another danger, due to slides. Usually, due to a strata of jKirus material surrounded by denser, more impervious soil, the water is held from escaping projierly. The sujiporting top hallast is thereby weakened ami many derailments have occurred because of the track structure at such points suddenly giving wav under the wheels of a train. The bottom of these watcr-|ckets must Ik tapped by the proper mclhod of drains. Slopes may be sodded to prevent slitting. Various type* of vines---alfalfa or Ber muda grass--not only serve to prevent sliding, but also arrest considerable drifting snow. Windstorms have caused many tram derailments, due to blowing cars off sidings onto main lines of otlicr tracks, or blowing trees, telegraph (Miles, or other obstacles across the rails. Derails must be provided for at all dangerous (mints. esjiccially on descending grades. Trees should Ik cut lack to a safe distance from the truck wherever pnssililc. In some section? <( the sontlnvot. winds arc an csiiccial liazard due to the light, sandy top soil drifting. The placing of sand fences. oiling of sandy soil adjacent to railroad tracks, and the planting of resistant vegetation arc some of the more common preventives of such accidents. Wooden trestles on *ur important lines arc rapidly giving way to steel hut on our less im|iortant lines they will prolmhlv Ik with us for a long time to come. In some cases the tops oi wooden trestles have liecn covered with sheet metal to prevent their ignition from engine coals. Vegetation slxnildlic carefully cut awav front wooden abutments and inspections carried on systematically to sec that this item is not neglected. Weed huniers should Ik carefully followed and all fire in ties carefully put out. If this is not done, all or a portion of the ties in a single panel of track may be consumed, permitting the rail to push out of gauge or to depress under traffic, and thus lead to a costly train accident. Nor is the highway crossing free from its 1inranis. Planks should Ik taken up !<fore freezing weather iKgins and all dirt on top of the tics and underneath planks cleaned out. Flange-wavs should receive especial consideration and all ice. snow, or other material cleaned out carefully. Ton many derailments have occurred due to snow and ice in flange-ways. On gravel or dirt ballasted highways there is an added ilanger due to vehicles dragging stones or dirt upon the crossing and into tlic flange-way. Here it coro- Safety Section, AR.4--Steam Railroad Section, XSC 395 pacts under traffic, as more and more is deposited, until eventually the wheels of a passing train are lifted up and over the rail. Highway repairmen operating roadscrapers are sometimes careless or ignorant of these dangers. Track foremen should make it their duty to advise all such persons of the possible consequences of this dangerous practice. So far very little has been said alout inspections. It is, however, hv regular and careful track inspections that incipient dangers may best Ik found 'and cor rected. T1k trackmen, the foremen and the sujKrvisors should train most carefully the men upon whom they arc_ to rely. With sections rapidly liccomiiig longer anil longer, it is not always possible for the foreman to supervise his gang ami also patrol his .track. The track inspector therefore Ikcuuics the first line of defense. He must be able to think clearly and rapidlv in whatever emergency niav arise, always remembering that the safety of the train service rests in his funds.' Moreover, the foreman himself must he ready at all times oi high wind, licavv rain, or any unusual weather conditions to patrol his track, ami to him is given the power to preserve the lives of passengers and trainmen, and to him is given the privilege of speeding up the w*ings of transportation. WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION October 3, 1934 Report of Committee on Prevention of Highway Crossing Accidents By H. A. ROWE Manager, Claims Department, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. New York City The speaker said in part: The report of this committee for tlic year 193.1 again shows a slight reduction hi the number of accidents and fatalities at railroad highway crossings and a substantial reduction in the nunilKf of injuries for the fifth consecutive year since the year 1938. Tlie record is as follows: Year Accidents 1928.................................. 19.13.................................. ... 3,235 Fatalities 2.568 1,51! Injuries 6.667 3.697 Reduction............... ... 22K$(44?A 1.057 C417r1 2.970 (449fcl Casualties during the four months of June. July. August and Scntcmltcr in the Careful Crossing Campaign, compared with the same iKritnl 1928 to 1933. indnsivc. were as follows: Year Accidents 1928.................................. 1929.................................. ... 1.827 1930.................................. 1931.................................. 1932.................................. 1933.................................. Fatalities 858 749 640 496 432 491 Injuries 2.092 2.140 1,505 1.196 1.022 1.124 It will he noted that automobile registration in 1933 was 23.827.290. and repre sents an increase of 1.4 per cent over the preceding year; this is quite com|iarable with the number of automobiles registered in the jicak year of crossing accident casualties. Gasoline consumption, which is a fair barometer of automobile use. was 16.025.- 562,000 gallons during the year 19.13; which is an increase of a trifle less than 2 per cent over the preceding vear. The increasing use of smaller cars with greater mileage per gallon of gasoline, indicates that the traffic over and across railroad tracks was fully equal to tliat of 1932.