The current article in Trains Magazine about Death Valley Scotty mentions that back in 1905, there was an average of 9-10 railroad workers killed working on the railroads every day. That’s somewhere around 3500 workers killed on the job per year. Railroading is still a dangerous job, but not anything like back then. I have no idea what the yearly railroad workplace fatalities are today- maybe 1/10 of that in 1905? Would the great gains in railroad safety have been more a product of improved equipment, or improved working procedures and rules?
All of the above.
Data taken from the FRA’s Office of Safety Analysis website:
For calendar 2011 there were 21 railroad employees killed in 16 accidents.
In total there were 710 people killed on RR property in 650 incidents. By far the most people killed were trespassers followed by contractor personnel. I assume, but do not know, that the term “trespasser” includes street crossing incidents.
Crossing accidents are a stand alone catagory.
The simple answer Murphy is : YES. The knuckle coupler and the air brake were the two major breakthroughs for safety and efficiency followed by automatic block signal systems and interlockings coupled with advancements of telegraph and telephone communications… Because of the efficiencies and the fact that with fewer accidents closing down the railroad and cost of cleanups, you’d think the railroads would be quick to embrace these advances but it was more often unions and the public pushing for safety. The whole dynamics of rolling stock, engines, track, signal systems, communications tied to an undersandig that safety was not only good for the health and well being of employees but also for the bottom line in meeting customer needs and public relations brought safety to be a major program on all railroads.
Let me rephrase this a bit, to see if it makes more sense. We would all agree, that the improved equipment over the last century has saved countless lives in the railroad industry. What I wonder, is if all the credit is being given to equipment improvements, when there surely must have been great gains by use of better procedures and rules. The 3 point rule when a man is on the ground, for example, must have saved a lot of lives.
I have to apologize for the way my posts look these days. I had problems for a while and could not post on any but the testing forum. Customer service gave me some advice about changing a setting. I can now post, but I have no options whatsoever, and the posts do not get spaces or paragraph indentations. I’d put an unhappy icon here> >but the system won’t let me.
Yes, of course rules and regulations evolved as knowedge was gained. Again, many were brought about by unions who wanted to keep their ranks alive and working!.
Besides union rules, insurance rules and government regulations, I think instant news coverage may have a part in it, too. If a worker is killed or seriously injured today, it hits the evening news right away. In reading about things like tunnel and bridge construction in the 1800’s, I’m often struck by the tallies of how many workers lost their lives on some of these projects,sometimes in the hundreds. There seemed to be a low regard for human life back then, but when the news is several days late, it’s just a statistic from a distant place and doesn’t register so strongly emotionally.
Actually, I think people took it more for granted that life had many perils (which it did), and accepted the risk more readily. Think about the odds faced on an ocean voyage or crossing the continent. Building the Panama Canal claimed many lives, but there were always replacement workers available. The New Basin Canal was dug in the 1830’s from Lake Pontchartrain to the heart of New Orleans, about five miles, and no accurate count of the deaths was kept. Estimates range from 800 to 30,000, many of them Irish immigrants. Slaves were considered too valuable to risk in the endeavor.
No “trespasser” only means pedestrians killed while on RR property. People accidents involving commiting suicide are not required to be reported to the FRA until 2011.
In 1908 the Federal Employer’s Liability Act was passed. With this injured workers, or the families of those killed, could sue the railroad for full damages if they could prove the railroad negligent. Before this workers or their families could sue, but usually the companies won. Either by not being held liable or if they were, paying small compensation.
With passage of FELA, life and limb wasn’t as cheap as it once had been.
Jeff
Another outgrowth of the era 1880’s into the 19 teens was insurance companies formed for and/or by rr employees who could not be covered otherwise. I am told New Your Central Mutual Life now of Edmonston, NY, once of Utica, is such a company. This application of safety either by rule or appliance was the same as we see with car manufactureres today, or similar: the cost is weighed against all other factors until it can be assimilated into the price.
This migh be a bit of insight to Railroading and Construction in the 20th Century:
Link is to a preview of the book: Building the Clinchfiel****d
by James A. Goforth (Retired Chief Engineer of Clinchfield RR.)
ISBN 1-57072-191-9
The Chapter starting on Page 24 of the summary gives one some insight:
" Old Clinchfield Railroad Built by Wild, Death-Dealing Crews " by Ashton Chapman
[paraphrased] "…No record is now available, if one was (record) was ever kept, of lives lost in various disasters and through exposure thr ravages of disease and other causes;
Keep in mind that the work force is much ,much smaller now than at the turn of the century, so the real number to look at would be the percent of the workforce injured or killed.
Radios and the reduction in crew number had a lot to do with it, less guys around the equipment means less chances of someone getting hurt.
The end of the caboose era helps, less injuries there also.
Trust me, a caboose ride on a freight train is really rough, even with a good engineer the slack back there can hammer you.
More efficient locomotives meant less number of trains moving the same amount of tonnage, so again, fewer crews in harms way.
As a side note, today we actually move more tonnage farther with less men and equipment than ever before in railroading history.
The FRA and their insistence on safety appliances being in place and working…the FRA says if its there, it must function as intended, so handrail, safety chains, horns bells and headlights, along with other appliances are kept up because the crew can bad order a non-complying locomotive with no hassle from the carrier.
Unions pushed work rule changes, reduction in a “day” from 16 to 14 to 12 hours, and they actively promote their carriers safety rules, simply because the whole idea is to come home alive, with all your fingers and toes!
If I remember correctly, Trains magazine had an article a few years back about the number of railroaders working in the 1940s, something like one million men worked in the industry, most directly associated with the equipment in some way, car men, clerks, station agents, MOW and T&E were all near the trains as they moved…that is rare now, almost no station agents exist, most MOW is mechanized and their numbers are way down, even from when I hired out, you no longer see clerks walking tracks checking car numbers, most if not all hump yards have automatic computer controlled switches so no need for as many switchmen or brakemen.
As for the equipment i
With all due respects to Ed and the other professionals who insist on working safely, I have noticed a few postings in the past complaining that certain safety procedures (especially 3-point protection) unnecessarily slow down operations with the implication that they are not needed. On the other hand, I remember talking with BRC’s Mechanical Superintendent who mentioned an in-house barbecue for the shop personnel for their attainment of a safety milestone. He was a stickler for safe operation and was proud of this achievement.
Safety pays. And is rewarded in many ways. Accidents whether major or minor, with or without injury cost a lot of money with down time, equipment damage, damage claims, and medical attentions needed. So the cheapest and best way to save money is to operate safely, take precautions, invest in safe practices, life saving equipment and rules, and damage protection at all times. If you have an accident, put a dozen cars on the ground…some with hazerdous cargo, flip a few locomoitves, injure or kill a few employees or bystanders, and not be able to operate for a couple of days and after that at reduced capacity, it can be quite a hit to the pocketbook. Most railroad are self insured so that could be a major wack plus the consequences of law suits that follow. So, taking an extra minute or hour to do it safely is a major cost effective measure in the long run and is why there are safety rules, examiners, instructors, and managers. If it can hurt someone, if it can damage equpment or right of way, if it will stop the flow of traffic, it will also decrease the flow of income and lessen the profit. So, safety pays big time.
I agree that the 3 point safety, or Red Zone as the FRA and the SOFA working group call it is outstanding rule…before it existed, we all had our own version of it, down here on the PTRA we had a hand signal for going in between to lace hose or knock off brakes/open anglecocks…or the verbal radio call of “going in between” or “In between lacing 'em up”…most railroads had their own version, but the big difference was that with the home grown version, all the engineer did was wait…with 3 point, he must set the independent brake, center the reverser, flip off the gen field, and then respond in like kind to the radio call with an acknowledgement of “Set and centered”.
That major difference means its very hard to move the trains with someone in between the cars, and it takes a few seconds for the engineer to un do all of that, so he has time to think about what is going on.
Yes, some rules do seem to slow down the work, but the alternative is not good if something goes wrong.
And there is a solution, you simply have to think of a way to accomplish your work with the rules in place.
The only newer rule to come down the line in the last few years that I really disagree with is not allowing you to mount or dismount moving equipment…there really have not been many injuries from that, and it is so much easier to let the train do the work, less wear and tear on your back and knees, but it is the rule now so…
The only problem I have with 3-step/red zone is that if can give someone a false sense of security. You should always be prepared for a car to move, and never get yourself in a position* that you can’t get in the clear really fast.
*- not as easy when you have these mandates for bottom shelf couplers on everything. What a pain.
The most important safety tool is your brain. If you know what is safe, if you know the rules, if you know your job, if you know your fellolw workers, if you know your equipment, if you know your limits, if you know yourself, if you know what to do if…you should be ok. Miss any one or combination of any of them, then you might be in trouble.
Ed -
Has PRTA fallen in love with the Brake Stick to apply and release hand brakes without climbing on cars? Making it’s use mandatory?