1956 — Sep 5, switching error, two Santa Fe Express trains collide, near Robinson, NM– 20

–20 Shaw. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents, Safety Precautions… 1961, p. 143.
–20 Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).”

Narrative Information

Shaw: “….In all cases [referring to table of collision accidents including Robinson, NM] the only explanation was confusion on the part of the employee tending the switch, sometimes in terms of doubt as to which track his own train was standing on, and sometimes a last-second impression that he had neglected to line up the switch for the approaching train. The Santa Fe collision at Robinson, New Mexico, which resulted in the highest death toll for any accident of this type, illustrates the kind of confusion that has all too often led to a fatal movement of the switch.

“On the early morning of September 5, 1956, Santa Fe eastbound mail and express train No. 8, consisting of a four-unit diesel locomotive and sixteen cars, and westbound passenger train No. 19, a four-unit diesel with fourteen cars, each received identical copies of train order No. 508, at Las Vegas and Raton, New Mexico, respectively. Train order No. 508 read:

No. 8 Eng. 41 meet No. 19 Eng. 30 at Robinson. No. 8 take siding.

“No. 8 arrived at Robinson, a closed office, at 2:54 A.M., and entered the siding, stopping with its locomotive 431 feet short of the far switch. As No. 8 was superior by direction to No. 19, it would have been entitled to hold the main track without the dispatcher’s order to the contrary. The fireman of No. 8 opened the switch to admit his train to the siding, and then went ahead to the far switch, where he removed the lock. In doing this, and in remaining near the switch he was violating one of his road’s rules, which read:

104(A) At meeting or passing points, the employee attending the switch must not unlock derail or main track switch, nor station himself nearer to main track switch than the clearance point, and, when it is safe to do so, on opposite side of track, until expected train has been met or passed.

“Within five minutes the waiting fireman of No. 8 saw No. 19 approaching. Simultaneously, the engineer of No. 8 gave several short blasts on his horn, and flashed his headlight, which had been extinguished, Interpreting these signs as a signal to him, the fireman became momentarily confused, forgot which track No. 8 was standing on, and imagined that the engineer was calling him to line the switch for entry into the siding. Accordingly, he dashed across the track and turned the switch in front of the oncoming train. No. 19 careened onto the siding at 63 m.p.h. and ran head-on into No. 8 before it had more time to apply its brakes. Twenty railroad employees, most of them off-duty waiters riding in the demolished dormitory car second behind the engine of No. 19, lost their lives.

“As the engineer of No. 8 was also killed, it was not certain why he had apparently attempted to signal to his fireman tending the switch, but it may have been to remind him to stand away from the switch.” (Shaw, Robert B. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices in the United States. P.R. MacMillan Limited, 1961, pp. 143-144.)

Wikipedia: “September 5, 1956 – near Robinson, New Mexico, United States: Two Santa Fe express passenger trains collide when a railroad worker prematurely throws a switch directly in front of one of the trains. 20 railroad employees, mostly dining car personnel, are killed.” (Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).”)

Sources

Shaw, Robert B. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices in the United States. London & Geneva: P.R. MacMillan Limited, 1961.

Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).” Accessed 7-18-2018 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1950-1999_rail_accidents