Death Rode the Rails: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1828–1965

1. In the Beginning: American Railroad Dangers and Safety, 1828–1873

10 1 July 4, 1828, marked the beginnings of American railroading. On that date old Charles Carroll of Carrollton, last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, turned over the first shovel of earth to begin construction of the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O)—the first commercial railroad on the continent. Forty-five years later in 1873, American carriers operated the largest railroad network in the world, with over 70,000 miles of road. The development of American railroads during this first half century owed much to the common pool of technological knowledge shared by Europeans and Americans. Because all aspects of railroading from technology to management were new and untried, accident and casualty rates in all countries were high by modern standards. But as both contemporary and modern observers have noted, American carriers also evolved their own technological style that shaped all aspects of railroad transportation, including its safety. These choices, along with American labor conditions and the American preference for as little government regulation as possible , led to the development of a uniquely American system of railroading that was also uniquely dangerous. But safety, like every other aspect of railroading, was in constant evolution, and the very dangers of American railroads encouraged the development of a complex network of individuals and institutions devoted to improving their safety.1 IntheBeginning AmericanRailroadDangersandSafety,1828–1873 The [railway] system which has grown up under . . . [American conditions] is well adapted to the wants of the country. —Captain Douglas Galton, Royal Engineers, 1857 When the matter of safety comes to be considered . . . America is lamentably below all other nations. —Alfred Bunn, British tourist, 1853 TheAmericanSystemofRailroading During the antebellum years a number of European scientists and engineers commented extensively on American railroads. These writers made it clear that a distinctly American system of railroading emerged over these years, a fact they attributed to differing European and American economic circumstances. These differences resulted from the nature of the market for railroad transportation in the United States and from the comparative expense of capital and labor in relation to natural resources such as land and wood. European travelers also commented on the distinctive characteristics of American railroading, and most were shocked by its dangers. European Engineers View American Railroads Among the most perceptive of the European engineers who studied American railroads was Franz von Gerstner, a German engineer who visited the United States during the late 1830s. Von Gerstner first articulated some of the fundamental differences between European and American methods. He calculated that New York railroads had far steeper grades and sharper curves than did European carriers, but had cost only $17,000 a mile, far less than most European lines. Flatter grades were avoided, he explained, “to avoid the higher construction costs,”while sharp curves were employed“as a means of avoiding heavy expense.”For similar reasons, in 1850 the United States with over 26,000 miles of road contained only 11 miles of tunnel, while Britain with about 8,700 miles of road had 70.2 Writing in 1850, the British scientist and inventor Dionysius Lardner glimpsed the same forces at work. He noted that England’s railways had cost about £40,000 a mile and returned only modest profits. How, he asked rhetorically, could “this stupendous system of American railways, with a traffic comparatively so insignificant among a people where profits on capital are high . . . be made to answer?” As Lardner proceeded to explain, the American response to thin traffic and scarce capital was to construct railroad permanent way far more cheaply than was common in Europe. In the terminology of modern economics, factor proportions along with the nature of demand led American companies to choose and develop different technologies than were employed in Europe. Although American practice raised operating costs, with sparse traffic such costs were more than offset by lower interest payments. As traffic increased, improvements in permanent way became more economical, however, and in this respect, as the nineteenth century wore on, European and American railroads grew more alike (chapter 2).3 While most British lines were double-tracked, only a few of the early American carriers such as the Long Island and the Boston & Providence were graded for double-track, and these were sharply criticized by engineers Charles Ellett and John Trautwine for being too well built. “Our engineers should construct their roads with a view to paying well instead of IntheBeginning 11 12...