The San Francisco call. [volume], June 09, 1907, Page 14, Image 14

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
DEATH KNELL OF THE WOODEN CAR
AMERICA'S frightful record of
railroad disasters has aroused
public sentiment as never be
fore to the necessity of safe
guarding human life. The death rate
on railroads throughout the United
States is from 20 to 30 times greater
than In European countries. The gov
ernment reports show that In the last
three months of 1906, the most recent
statistics available, more than 20,000
persons were killed or injured on rail
roads, or about 700 a day. In time of
peace. In other -words, the proportion of
violent deaths is greater than during
the most bitter wars. *
The amazing proportion of accidents
is attributed by experts to the obvious
\u25a0weakness of the old fashioned equip
ment of many of our railroads, such as
the wooden cars, the present form of ,
rails or the signal systems employed.
Klgid examination has been made by
the government, by private parties and
by the railroads themselves to deter
mine the cause of accidents. One of the
first fruits of this investigation is the
adoption by the Pennsylvania railroad
of new steel cars. Some 200 of these
cars, the largest order of its kind ever
given, are being constructed both for
suburban and long distance travel. The
cars are stronger than any now in use
and better able to meet the severe con
ditions of modern service.
Built almost entirely of steel, the
new cars, first of all, are believed to be
absolutely inflammable to the last de
laU of their decorations. It is com
paratively a simple matter to build a
freight car which will not burn, but a
j>assenser car, which must be furnished
and decorated to meet modern demands,
presents unusual difficulties. The or
dinary materials used by the decorator
and upholsterer must be replaced oy
clever Imitations. The car frames, the
structural portions and the outside
sheathing are, of course, of steel, no
other material being suitable. Much of
the Interior -work of the cars again is
made of steel, which can be worked up
Into Innumerable forms. In order to
imitate wood, sheets of composite ma
terial made of compressed vegetable
pulp or asbestos have been used. An
other form of decorative material con
, Elsts of sheets of steel to which fiber
or asbestos board has been glued.
Chemically Treated Draperies
The coverings used for the seats and
«ven the carpets on the floors . are
chemically treated to render them proof
<against fire. The floors of the cars are
•covered with corrugated steel plates
;whlch are covered with cement. Even
the paints used !n th.e cars are %o
composed that they will not produce
any smoke or dangerous fumes in case
of fire. The construction of steel cars
lias become of late years not only i>.
*cJ«nce but an art. It will soon be
possible for one to travel in a car anil
enjoy every luxury of modern travel
with tb« assurance that these palaces
on wheels are not death traps. The
first of these noninflaramable cars were
merely designed for ordinary day
travel, but It Is the plan eventually to
have all types of cars constructed with
the same care. Several types of sleep
ing cars, dining c&rs and combination
cars have been designed and arc now
In process of construction.
The history of railroad accidents
shows that the breaking up of passen
ger cars is very common. A -consid
- crado proportion of the injuries an»l
of the lives; lost is therefore due to
the weakness of car construction. The
ntrw cars are so designed that they
may roll completely over without dan
ger, of collapse. A long series of ex
periments have been carried on of late
to determine the exact strain upon
cars In a. variety of accidents. The
exact force exerted In a headon \ col
lision, for Instance, has been measured
within a few pounds. The cars, having,
been constructed as the result ' of ; the*ei'
measurements, will. It is believed,^ \ ws
capable • of withstanding any . strain
which may.be placed upon them. \u25a0
The tests consisted of a series of
made to order accidents. In which the :
various types j of cars were submitted
to many violent bump*,* such as : they,
-would , rfeeeive"; in collisions..." A^dyna.
znora«*t«r car was used in the tests, which
WBtiJKSBBtBBBBBKBBBSBKBtBBM
measured the force of such, impacts
with mathematical accuracy. A dyna
mometer car weighing _51,000 pounds
in violent collision with" a number of
loaded freight cars, for instance,
showed that a force of 600.000 pounds
had been exerted in ''the impacts. An
other' experiment consisted of a made
up collision between a dynamometer
car attached to a loaded steel freight
car and a loaded freightcar standing on
a track. The dynamometer registered
400,000 pounds. In these new construe
tions the "passenger cars should be
stronger. In order to' escape with as
little injury as possible". In an actual
collision between passenger coaches
and freightcars It is of course largely a
question of the survival of the fittest.
The standard steel freightcars are de
signed to resist an end shock equlva-
lent to 300,000 pounds compression.
The new steel cars are-of two types,
designed for the through trains and
suburban traffic. For the through
trains a long car of. especially heavy
construction will be used, which is ca
pable of withstanding: the strain inci
dent to coupling, buffing and pulling
long trains. In this class there will be,
mall, baggage, sleeping, dining and
day cars. TJie cars for the suburban.,
service will b<3 shorter, of lighter con*-/
structlon and sujted to frequent shortly
runs. The frames, which In both cases
will be entirely of steel, follow the
general lines of wooden cars' ln their 4
construction, but. In 'addition, are so
braced and riveted together :. In - every,
part that it will be. impossible -to tele
scope them. AH parts of the cars are
proportioned on this assumption. Even
the ends of the cars are so. constructed
that in case of collision one. can; not
sweep off the superstructure of an
other. A complete frame about the end
of the cars, fastened both to the under
frame and the roof, /Is proportioned
with this end in. view.
. The development of. the steel passen
ger car has been. the work of but a few
years. When steel; cars were, proposed
for the New York subway not a single
car builder in the country was. in apo
sition to furnish them. One of "the
earliest' of these cars was a 58 foot
passenger coach with a steel frame and
a. steel outside sheathing; as, high as
the roof. The roof was; made of wood
covered With copper.', , A * single car : of
this typo contained .1,500 pounds of
wood. The next car, completed in No^
vember,'. 1906, contained practically no
wood^ Designs are now being prepared
for a 70 foot dining car which will con-,
tain but SOO pounds- of wood, tholcar
being constructed of steel and compos
ite board. An all steel sleeping car has
recently* been completed and Is now'on
exhibition at th/a Jamestown- exposition/
It closely : resembles, the ; . standard
wooden car except In the finishing/o f
Its Interior, which"" is a delicate * pearl
gray, in color, instead of the usual high
ly polished natural wood. " \u25a0- ' .
An entirely new form 'of truck Is re
quired; for the new" steel "cars. ' Ittia
based upon new principles and may b«
used either;; for, : motor-ears v or : those
drawn by locomotives.* The trucks arV
of two forms; those of four' and six
wheels are made entirely of steel."-.Th«
new construction, 'it: is ; believed, 'tVill
lend an 'easier motion: to the" cars and
they will be less likely." to *jump>th*
track ! or break . down under - pressure.
The T arrangement' of 'brakes on these
trucks will serve to bring; the cars 'un
der more Immediate^control/; .' •\u25a0" *f - . ;-'\u25a0\u25a0,
•' xhe heating,- lighting and ventilating
of the new cars marks still another Im
portant \u25a0 advance ' in ; such" construction.
The steel cars will be ; lighted entirely
toy \ the current being sup
plied by. storage batteries or train gen
erators,' as desired. Incandescent lamps
will ibe used for the side lights and *In
the \u25a0 toilet • room s. The ' problem of - ven
tilation, always ' a serious one where ' so
many, people ; are j crowded ; together i n
bo , small a epace, has ' received ' special
attentlbiLt -,The new, system; even .with
all doors i am} windows closed, will sup
"ply. each" passen srer with 11000 cubic feet
'J. '-'.- '. . -'.•-- "- 1 - '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0' ~
or fresh *llt per hour,-.' 67, In otKir
words, will cha»c "-"-the air,' of the:' car
"every four, minutes. >Thls .will; be done
without drafts or: air currents'of any
kind. Tljc i air '"Is; taken in byihoods at
cither end of the car roof and after, be
ing heated is : discharged from openings
beneath the seats. -\u0084/', \u25a0 :
. The '« improvement and safeguarding
of the . passenger /.'car; has to : do; rather
\u25a0with; tho eAect' than the'cause:6f ; rail
road "fatalities.'; ; The .official statistics :
, relatin g . to the 'question^of ; faulty ,rail«; \u25a0
.which \u25a0 havo recentfy -been published,' are
startling. * A'crisis would seem to hava
been reached. The- report- of ; the) state *
railroad : 'i commission f show's ,' \ that ; the :
number of ; broken rails I removed ' from*,
the tracks \u25a0: in 1905 1 was 1 1,178;», In : 1906 '
therewere: Bo4," and^ln^ 1907 the numbers
had Increased | to 2,o99.'? The : figures, "of
course, speak for i themselves. \The sit
uation is so startling that a great wave I
of protest has risen," and public interest
in r- the ".broken >! rail : peril ;i has - been
aroused all' over; the 'country. , ; ; •/ L
JA number of prominent railroadm en f
have "'.. sought (to I explains the 'situation.;-:
The | increase jln | the; number : of :-brokea f
rail s :in the \u25a0 las t J five; years - over J any =
other period 1 , in the ' history of i railroad
ing is; of ; course, 1 ;. admitted.'^ '.I. It Ms ;as-'
serted;, ; however,':* that -j the -s quality ;^f /
steel rails \ has 'suffered as the result of I
the; enormous Jdemandimade'uponSthe.
manufacturers.^ It ' ls asserted that , such .
breakages i: should V* be v. stopped, or ;? at ',
least ' their number largely reduced ! by '
better methods of;manufacturlng.'r,,lt lai
' further (declared' that , the I railroads \u25a0• not I
only, do' not seek } to economize,; but 'are i
.willing: i to \ payi njor* > for/ rails \ if they
could obtain '; a; betterjquality." 1 - -, \u25a0 . :
',ni lt Is 1 pointed out that ! a'' few. years - ago
the more ;. important , railroads \ prepared
their., owni specifications ' and ithese, were!
accepted \by; the manuf acturers^whb,* In 1
addition, • jgrave -a'^ guarantee 'twithYeach^
i orders of *\u25a0; rails.'-' Some % five ? years" j ago,':
\u25a0or I at ; about S the % time % the '{ lncrease in
steel breakages began, this custom was
abandoned/ ,^The ' ;? manufacturerelxVre-1
: fused \u25a0to accept ; such [specifications; but "
supplied tthelr l 6wnl\ '.! A* little ' later! the I
' makers of ;} rails •' refused! to t gi vesahyj
sruaranteeV:wlth^thelr;.:rails::^lt§ls]
elsimt^^br »o»« t2tst;«Sß«* thfS ttrns
the steel rails hare tor th» most part
been let j Inferior quality and j henoe I the
greater number of broken rails and of
railroad accidents." i;v ;^-''":r: v.<.» -' /\u25a0\u25a0.-^
'£"& The ! manufacturers of steel ! rails,' on
the .? other : i hand, declare < that i the i mi
creased | trafflo twhich? railroads • are \ t«
quired^to3canry^andSthe^fa<st-J that i all
rolling stock, locomotives and cars alike
iarefmuebfheavier-thanf lnfold^tlmes
make the I strain Torifralls 1 much ] greater.^
'They^ assert m that s3 railroads 1-5 should
recognize 'this 'situation' and I meet ; it <by
using E heayierlj rails 'J. suitable C f orJ\the
new % demands^The 1 reply/ of f, the | rail^
i roads i toX this claim «lsj that
iwhat^is •• needed^ is I notl a \u25a0heavlerlrail
; but fone^of h better * materlaL^T©- V**y*
steel f.- rails - were Increased . . In -weight
from 80 to 100 poiindsTper. yard the' fre
quencyi of v track -breakages * continued
toiihcrease.fasterJthanTever;.-. :^-J- :'\u25a0_
* The J trouble^ is I : also blamed on the
fact ! % that s? the ;"enorraous "\u25a0, demand ' r for
steel % tracKs f make":- it ? Impossible J with
the Ipresent * facilities V; to * turn > t as
good; raUsfas | lnV former-years, r Still
other » engineers \ whb>have" investigated
the f situation . advance \ tho 5 theory Cthat
the >,best JsrradesTbf :^ores ;used j In :.the
manufacture -of s iron t and \ steel are ', In
•ferlorj Infquallty.l ~\ Still; another Uheory
has ;: been '':\u25a0'% recently J.>" advahced •.-: 'by
John' W. ; Gates, |.who j. believes^ that jthe
manufacturers > use T/a t percentage '^of
.Waste ; material in the rails , which ; years
ago was thrown ; away. '^When the steel
Is cast >In tho I great Ingots the '.upper
part ' of the casting \u25a0is \u25a0\u25a0 full [of .'air holes
and *? lmpurities.. V" At;;', one uT time*" this
faulty v part, s? accord in g I to V M r.v Gates,
was cut ; away f completely; and s thrown'
into 5 the I scrap * heap. r V*Today,? according,
to iMr*t Gatesrlthis i part.'! or.' a* consider
able j; portion^of J It, \u25a0- Is -; rolled i Into ,* the
steel,!' thus^saylng ? from U0 ii0% 20 • per
cent i6t £,theY material^' ; This j faulty/ or
Impure steel | ' is £ likely^ 'to £spH t y and
cracky long ft before ", the ;* pure y, steelgof ,
; the) lowers part! Oflthe; ingot.' iv'--' • r
Sif Thefquestl6n| has arisen ' whether /the
best steel 'rails obtainable: made by the
old or. Bessemer, process are capable of
\u25a0 standing p. the? enormous I Tstf aln % which
modern railroad; traffic i makes [on; them.'
iWith s the K possible'/exceDtlon ; of _? 4fmor,
The San Francisco Sunday Cafl*
plate .and; steel projectiles no other
product In the Held of . steel products
is subjected to such a strain. It is as
serted by some that these modern rails
have a considerable percentage of phos
phorus In \u25a0 their composition, and Ihls
renders them brittle and | liable to split.
The Bessemer process -does not permit
the phosphorus to be removed, so that
the percentage which existed :ln the
original ore will be found in the rails.
The best rails manufactured 10 years
ago-contained less than liper cent of
phosphorus, the proportion therefore
being so slight* that It had little or no
effect. ;Ra!ls of this kind which were
laid 12: years ago have been known to
carry a traffic of 350.000,000 tons with
out splitting or cracking and with very
slight "wearing; away. . The composi
tion of modern . ateel, rails } adopted by
agreement -of the manufacturers In
cludes 10 per cent ; of phosphorus. In
other words, 'the \u25a0' percentage of \ phos-/
\u25a0 phorus; has increased 60 per cent in the
last UO. years. ; It: Is 'the rails of this
class -which .have caused the increase
In the number, of accidents;
'The \u25a0; increase '-, in the proportion of
phosphorus simply means, of course
that j the /ores ,t available today have
more phosphorus than .the", ores used
.10 <years ago. The process' of .manu
facturing rails ; meanwhile remains the
same. u^WhenVthe quality of 'the .©res
coming. from the minos. began 7 to depre
ciate some years ago the manufacturers
.triedito.counteracttthe. influence by de
creasing,, the 'amount \ of carbon in',thp"
'Fteel.': This liad the * result of- making
rails j which would not split, but," on the
other^hand,- It 'rendered them: so soft
that 7*7 * they wore „ away.' rapidly ' on : the
curves. '; ..Complaints came from th<* rail
roads, and as a result the manufactur
ers-raised 'the. amount 'of carbon, with
the ,i result ] that the i- rails > were t made
bri ttle. • tJtaßMSffiSKglffifl ffSjVtf HH I ' H
Is but one known by
which ores with a considerable percen
tage u of< phosphorus can be made quick-*
ly^and cheaply.- V; It '.ls 'known "as the"
open hearth *process..; : iThe; number of
p!aa ts capable Tof . making ] rails by .this
method 5 Is, \u2666 however, \very • limited." It
Is estimated \u25a0; that sto ; establish open
hearth plants would call for an outlay
of ; $60.000,000. if, The i problem. -therefore
resolves ,[ itself. Into •a j purely - financial
one. -The present, manufacturers prefer
to continue .their - Bessemer \ process. '
Present Form Condemned
. It Is asserted %byi some engineers
again that, the: present * form 'of steel
rails, is at fault. andUhaitlt Is impos
sible to * prevent '"- the": rails splintering
and • cracking'; as 27 long fas : It •Is - ; em
ployed: J: The < rail* • used : today through-
; out • the ! country, 1 although' heavier than
' those ; In- use > \ few * years ago; are still
rolled >ln>xactlyj;the>arae?formr'. The
. traffic ' \u25a0 they * must \u25a0:\u25a0 supports meanwhile;
;has£become '\u25a0? much*'heavier't and ' " more -
i frequent. 1 ,; It i may? be ,' well >f to - explain
that * the Hop} of Uhe 5 rail, X which cornea
, Into ? contact with .the wheels <6t -'\u25a0 the
train.l is termed the Vball?,'or "head" of
; the : ralL*^ The part supporting^ the" head
Is the" web.* and Uhe. bottom of ; the rail
which "i fastened ito - the ? wooden Vtie
and supports the" web,: Is the flange.' To
i make i* the ;^ head k of rail V strong
enough Jto 5 carry ?, the U weigh t \u25a0>: and hto
imeet'the^shockrof a train passing over
i lt;1 the^ head i Is \ made * the | heavl e»C? the '*
! web being much i lighter; and the flange
formed fat right~angles 4 wlth' the< web,'
y£r«l««jyeryj UKhtlg&jm%g - ; \u25a0
ainlmgqfactarlpK|ite^^
of metal known as the bloom Is crushed
into shape under enormous pressure by
the rolls. In passing: through th«
rolls the thinnest parts of the rail cool
the quickest. This Is the flange. Tfta
result is that the Impurities in the pip
ing of the ingot flow to the hottest part
of the metal, which la the head. Tha
flange of the rail contains the finest
steel, and the head, which comes Into
\u25a0 direct contract with the heavy loco
motive wheels, the poorest, whereas It
should be the- best. But It Is not In
the head of the rail that the fault lie*
which causes the 'rail to fracture* but
between the .web and the flange. Ninety
per cent of the rails that are> found
broken in Ihe track are ruptured at th»
base of the web and top of the flange.
Put the steel rail to the severest test
and the fracture will not show. It can
not/be discovered even by a micro
scope. But just as soon as a large loco
motive, followed toy a heavy train,
comes thundering over ihe rail, the
facture appears and spreads. Steel Is
not fibrous like wrdught iron. It !»
granular. The finer the grain of steel,
the more it adheres to the other grain*
surrounding it. If steel were fibrous It
would not fracture, but would be more
apt to split and bend. Steel will stand
up well under a steady strain, but It la
the' everlasting pounding of the pass-
Ing train that breaks the rail.
ItJis believed by some engineers that
the 'only solution of the broken rail
'prolfem lies in manufacturing rails of
a different form from those now in us«
or reinforce the present rails. If this
solution be accepted the whole, thins:
resolves itself to a question merely oi
dollars and cents.
Some 'Startling Statistics
- The exact influence of the old wooden
cars or of the split rail upon the whoU
number of deaths and casualties on
railroads is, of course, difficult to de
termine. Both causes, however, con
tribute In large number to the frightful
totals In all accidents. The latest quar
terly bulletin on railroad accidents La
sued by; the Interstate commerce com
mission serves to direct attention, if
indeed anything were needed, to the
present situation. The increase In rail
road accidents is out of. all proportion
to the increase In railroad travel, great
as it Is. . -
•During the three months ending with
December last there were among train
men "and passengers 20,944 casualties.
This number marks an Increase of
nearly 1,160 over the preceding threa
months. The number of .passenger*
killed In this quarter with a single ex
ception was the largest on record, there
.being 1.430 deaths. Of this number 143
were killed In three accidents. It
wems almost incredible that the num
ber of accidents should be nearly 5,000
a month, or nearly 700 a day. Th© av
erage'death rate throughout the civil
war is trifling In comparison, as Is th»
,late Russo-Japanese war. The hor
rors of war. in other -word j. seem In
considerable as compared with the toll
of the railroads in ..me of peace.
"\u25a0 Such a condition of affairs seems the
more inexcusable when the proportion
of accidents .n America Is compared
with that of European countries. The
, statistics for 1903 show, that the num
ber of killed In railroad accidents t~>r
every million carried was .07 In tho
United Kingdom, .0$ In the German em
pire V and .02 In France, while In th*
United .States the proportion was .51.
1 In" other words, for years past the av
erage . number of - killed in the United
States has been some in to 30 time*
. greater than in European countries.
The classification of all accidents shows
a variety of causes. The untrustworth
ine?s of employes, the lack of proper
signal apparatus, too hish speed at
dangerous points and broken rails ere
among the commonest causes. It Is ob- \u25a0
vlous,~ of \u25a0 course. ' tnat the Introduction
of i steel* cars which wm \ not telescope
or r collapse \wlll tend -to minlmue . ths
number jof r accidents even If thm otfcar
.causesbe neglected.
•\u25a0vThe]lack?of proper signal equipment
,1s j responsible \ for a considerable pro
portion of the accidents. Jit is probable
that the railroads v.-.~ not aa a rule ba
-provided with .this obvious necessity to
: safety until they are forced to do so br
the, government. According to the of*
ficial, government v reports, the total
length of line, in the United States last
• September' equ.pped with block signal j
was' 48,743: miles, or .only about -one
fifth *of the 'total railroad mileage of^
* the ""country. £*And.; of i the ,; roads thus
equipped only some 6,800 miles wera
\u25a0 equipped , with i.h» automatic block sys
tem. The rest. . or more than 100,009
m!le» of track; were provided with th«t
< old las h ioned ;• tele graph '• block system.