1911-002: 20 May 1911

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May 23, 1911

REPORT OF INVESTIGATION RELATIVE TO CAUSE OF ACCIDENT TO BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD PASSENGER TRAIN No. 14 ON THE WASHINGTON TERMINAL COMPANY'S TRACKS,
MAY 20th, 1911.

[¶1]  From a personal investigation and interviews had with the Baltimore & Ohio and Washington Terminal people we find as follows:

[¶2]  That train #14 left the Union Station bound for Baltimore, Md., at 10:54 pm and consisted of B & O Locomotive #2121, one mail, one baggage, three coaches and one parlor, making a total of six cars. The crew was composed of S. Montgomery, Conductor; John Michael, Baggageman; B. Kimmell, Flagman; C. H. Burch, Engineman; and Howard Cramblitt, Fireman.

[¶3]  Conductor Montgomery stated that the crew had not been on duty an excessive length of time, having left Cumberland, Md., at 6:52 pm after having had ten hours rest before leaving time of train.

[¶4]  At the frog in crossover track near bridge “L”, about 3300 feet north from where the train started at Union Station train shed, the locomotive left the track and ran on the ground some two-hundred feet. The train did not break loose from the locomotive, neither did it leave the track, but continued on the rails of the crossover track. The locomotive when it stopped was nearly diagonally across the tracks to the east of crossover track and the tender cramped around towards the right-hand side of the locomotive. When the locomotive left the track the fireman was standing on the apron between the locomotive and tender and jumped off from the right-hand side and stated that the train was running from eight to ten miles per hour, that he did not fall or get [Page 2] hurt and that when he jumped the engineman was getting off his seat in the cab but did not see him get off and did not see him again until his body was found between the rails and partially under the forward trucks of the mail car.

[¶5]  The body did not seem to have been run over by the wheels but had been crushed by the brake rigging under the trucks. The shock caused by the stopping of the train was so slight that it was hardly noticed by the passengers in the train. No one was injured in any way except the engineman.

[¶6]  The tower-man said the accident happened at 10:57 pm. This being the case, in making the distance of 3300 feet in three minutes, would indicate that the train had not exceeded an average rate of 12½ miles per hour.

[¶7]  It is impossible to state whether the engineman was thrown off or jumped. The statements made by the fireman, with reference to observing the engineman getting off the seat and what transpired on the locomotive after he left the track, cannot be fully relied upon is it was stated that he was dazed and when interviewed later seemed excited and confused.

[¶8]  The steam on the locomotive was not shut off. The drivers continued to turn rapidly for some five minutes after having left the track and until the locomotive had damaged herself to such an extent that she had no power. It it thought that the engineman did not apply the power[1] brakes and that they were not applied until some break occurred in the air connections by the derailment causing the brakes to apply automatically. If the engineman was thrown off that would account for his not shutting off the steam and applying the air.

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[¶9]  From what we could observe and learn from others, the track, switches and signals were all in good condition. The curve to crossover track is 12½ [2] degrees. The wheel base of the locomotive is 13 feet 2 inches.

[¶10]  It is our opinion that some obstruction may have been on the track or something may have fallen from the locomotive truck, derailing the same. The frog showed some irregular marks as if something scraped over same and a few feet north shows the first marks where the wheels left the rails. These marks were not very heavy and would indicate that they were made by the forward truck wheels. Where the drivers left the track the rails were bent and torn up for some distance.

[¶11]  The fireman stated that he had fired for five years on freight and three years on passenger trains and that he had made six trips with locomotive #2121, also that the locomotive was in good condition, rode good, took all curves nicely and nothing wrong with it which would account for its leaving the track.

[¶12]  There was no damage done to the cars in the train. There was an excessive strain on the drawheads between the tender and mail car caused by the cramped condition in which the cars were, which made it impossible to uncouple them at that time and as there was only a small amount of mail in the car the mail was transferred to the baggage car and balance of the train taken back to Union Station.

[¶13]  From the damaged condition in which we found the locomotive – so many of its parts destroyed and missing, loose driving wheels, damaged trucks, broken boxes and brake rigging, in fact the locomotive [Page 4] (as the saying is) had stripped herself – it would be difficult for us to say that there had been anything wrong with the locomotive which would have caused the accident.

[¶14]  Later we attended the Coroner's inquest but there was no information brought out that we had not previously obtained.

[¶15]  The officials and employees of both the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Washington Terminal Company were very courteous and perfectly willing to render us all the assistance within their power in making the investigation, in fact, we received the thanks of the officials for our assistance in endeavoring to locate the cause of the accident.

[¶16]  We attach hereto copies of statements from the employees which were interviewed in regard to the matter.[3]

Respectfully submitted,[4]