1950 — Feb 17, Trains collide head-on, Rockville Centre Station, Rockville Centre, NY– 32

— 32 AP. “Jury Blames Company, State and U.S. for [L.I.] RR Disaster.” Daily Messenger, NY. 3-31-1950, p. 1.
— 32 Fischler, Stan. Long Island Rail Road. 2007, p. 101.
— 32 Riverhead County Review, NY. “RR Safety Bill Provides Supervision of Workers.” 3-23-1950, p2.
— 31 AP. “Wreck Motorman Violated Rules 13 Times…” Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. 3-3-1950, p.1.
— 31 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p.
— 31 Haine, Edgar A. Railroad Wrecks. New York: Cornwall Books, 1993, pp. 32 and 123.
— 31 Interstate Commerce Commission. ICC Reports, Vol. 279, Decisions of the ICC. P. 479.
— 31 Nash. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters… 1977, p. 740.
— 31 New York Times. “Wreck Hearing Deferred.” 3-6-1950, p. 20.
— 31 Riverhead County Review, NY. “Engineers Have 2680 Violations.” 3-9-1950, p. 7.
— 31 Shaw. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents… 1961, pp. 392 and 484.
— 31 Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).”

Narrative Information

Interstate Commerce Commission: “The Commission investigated an accident on this line which occurred at Rockville Centre of February 17, 1950, which resulted in the death of 31 persons and the injury of 158 persons. The line on which this accident occurred was equipped with automatic block-signal and cab-signal systems. These systems were functioning properly and indicated to the engineer of the eastbound train that a stop was required at the entrance of the block in which the accident occurred. However, the engineer did not take action in time to stop the train at the stop signal, and the train was moving at a speed of 25 miles per hour when the collision occurred.” (ICC. Interstate Commerce Commission Reports, Vol. 279, Decisions of the [ICC of the U.S.], September 1950-December 1950. 1951, p. 479.)

Shaw: “The first of these crashes [three commuter train disasters in NYC area with less than one year] was a head-on collision between two electrified Long Island trains, near Rockville Center, at 10:43 p.m., February 17, 1950. The two train involved were eastbound No. 192 which left New York for Babylon at 10:03, carrying a load of about 300 passengers, mostly returning theater-goers; and city-bound No. 175 which departed from Babylon at 10:31, with about 100 passengers. Both of them consisted of twelve multiple-unit steel cars. The heavy traffic density Long Island is, of course, a multiple track road, but at this time an extensive grade separation project at Rockville Center had caused the temporary relocation of tracks for about two miles. A close clearance between the new elevated structure on which the permanent tracks were to run and buildings at the south of the road prevented the laying of the temporary tracks at normal spacing, and they were therefore gantleted; i.e., overlapped, with one rail of each between the two rails of the other. Naturally this arrangement represented a considerable inconvenience on this important passenger-carrying road – the Long Island is the only true railroad in the country that derives a larger proportion of its revenue from passengers than from freight – but the overlapping track was fully protected by automatic signals.

“The two signals governing the approach to the gantlet for trains outbound from New York stood 5748 and 1965 feet west of the frog where the overlapping track began. The signals at both ends of the gantlet were fully interlocked so that no conflicting indications could be given opposing trains, but they were controlled by an operator at Rockville Center who could give priority to trains from one direction or the other. The fixed signals were supplemented by cab signals.

“On the night of the accident Signalman Charles Zablocki, observing from his control board that No. 175 and No. 192 were each approaching the gantlet at opposite ends roughly simultaneously, gave the clear signal to the former. This automatically set the two signals west of the gauntlet at ‘Approach’ and ‘Stop’ respectively. Motorman Jacob Kiefer in the Babylon-bound train nevertheless continued through both signals without slackening speed, and collided nearly head-on with No. 175 only eleven feet beyond the frog, while both trains were running at about 25 m.p.h.

“The force of the collision was just slightly abated because the impact was somewhat oblique, and both trains veered off their tracks to the right. Major damage was inflicted upon the left side of both forward cars, where most of the thirty-one passengers to lose their lives had been sitting. Both motormen, in their right-hand compartments, escaped serious injury.

“Motorman Kiefer, fifty-five years old, had been employed by the Long Island as a motorman or engineer for twenty-six years. At the time of the I.C.C. investigation he refused to make any statement, but subsequently, in his trial for manslaughter, he admitted that he had seen the two signals at ‘Approach’ and ‘Stop’ and also heard the buzzer of the cab signal calling his attention to a change to a more restrictive indication. Then, however, he asserted, he suffered a momentary blackout due to high blood pressure, and was unaware of what was happening until after the collision. The district attorney accepted this defense with particular skepticism, especially since Kiefer had said nothing about a blackout in a bedside interview a few hours after the crash. The jury, nevertheless, accepted Kiefer’s statement by acquitting him after seven hours’ deliberation.” [See Fischler, below.] (Shaw, Robert B. Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices in the United States. 1961, pp. 392-393.)

Fischler: “….Kiefer explained that soon after the Babylon Express had cruised past the Lynbrook Station, he ceased functioning as an alert engineer. ‘I don’t remember anything until I was at the bottom of the hill, a few seconds before the crash,’ said Kiefer before the court. ‘When I came to, I saw the signal was against me. I heard my cab control whistle blowing and I saw the other train coming. I was only a couple of hundred feet west of the stop signal.’ The engineer then explained that he put his brake into emergency position before the trains collided. The prosecuting attorney attempted to depict Kiefer as reckless and insensitive to the peril in which he placed his passengers, but the jury was persuaded by the doctor testifying on behalf of Kiefer that his patient apparently had suffered, ‘From a spasm of the blood vessels in the brain that resulted in unconsciousness for that period.’

“Kiefer’s lawyer added that it would be absurd to believe that his client would deliberately have allowed the train to rampage unbraked down the grade when the engineer himself was threatened with injury or even death. It was a persuasive argument and the jury ruled Kiefer not guilty of criminal negligence and second-degree manslaughter.

“Soon after the wreck, LIRR officials promised to place a system of manual safety tripping devices at the gauntlet. Once the trippers were in place, the New York State Public Service Commission ordered the Long Island to inform all engineers that trains must slow to a speed of 15 miles per hour when they reached a point 600 feet from the gauntlet. It was, of course, too late, There were 32 passengers killed and 76 injured in the Rockville Centre crash.” (Fischler, Stan. Long Island Rail Road. St. Paul, MN, Voyageur Press, 2007, pp. 105-106.)

Wikipedia: “February 17, 1950 – Rockville Centre, New York, United States: The Rockville Centre train station was the site of a major railroad accident that resulted in the deaths of 31 people and injuries for over 100 people.” (Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (1950-1999).”)

Newspaper

Feb 20: “Governor Dewey was asked yesterday by the Mayor of Rockville Centre, L.I., to press for the installation of devices on the Long Island Rail Road that would automatically halt a train when it passed a red signal light. This request came as an aftermath to Friday night’s collision of two Long Island trains, in which twenty-nine passengers were killed and seventy-seven hospitalized. Seven of the forty-three persons still in three hospitals were in critical condition.

“Officials of the railroad have said that the accident, which occurred at Rockville Centre, resulted from the failure of one of the motormen to halt his train at a stop signal light.

“It was learned that the Public Service Commission, which will begin hearings on Wednesday, will consider an order to the Long Island Rail Road to install automatic tripping devices such as are used on New York City’s subways….

“Meanwhile, detectives in Nassau County made considerable progress in gathering information for the inquiry of District Attorney Frank A. Gulotta. They completed questioning of passengers who were hospitalized and prepared to begin today their interrogation of those who were treated at the hospitals but have since returned home.

“Already under house arrest is the motorman of the twelve-car 10:03 train from New York to Babylon, which collided at about 10:40 p.m. with the 10:31 from Babylon to New York. This motorman, Jacob Kiefer, 55 years old, of 69 Church Street, Baldwin, L.I., is charged with criminal negligence and second-degree manslaughter. He was scheduled to be arraigned today, but District Attorney Gulotta said this might have to be postponed because the motorman’s doctor reported he should not be moved because he might have received a skull fracture in the crash.

“The motorman of the eight-car westbound train, J. W. Marking, was questioned on Saturday by District Attorney Gulotta and then released….

“In the request to Governor Dewey for safety equipment, Mayor W. Harry Lister of Rockville Centre said he had been ‘shocked to learn that no automatic stopping devices supplementing automatic signal mechanisms’ were in use on the road at Rockville Centre. ‘It is our understanding,’ he said, ‘that such a mechanism, which is in use on other transit lines, would have automatically stopped the second train and prevented it from entering upon a track on which another train was already proceeding.’ ” (New York Times. “Dewey’s Aid Asked For Safety Device to Halt L.I. Trains.” 2-20-1950, pp. 1 and 18.)

Feb 23: “….Jacob Kiefer, railroad man for 32 of his 55 years, motorman of the eastbound train which officials say speeded through a Rockville Centre stop signal in District Court on a second degree manslaughter charge and released for a March 6 hearing in $10,000 bail furnished by his employer, the Long Island Rail Road. It was the first public appearance of the grey-haired engineer who has been in bed at home…since the disaster….” (Riverhead County Review, NY. “29 Die, 115 Hurt in LI’s Worst Wreck.” 2-23-1950, p. 1.)

March 2: “The engineers of the Long Island Rail Road to a man are backing Jacob Kiefer, motorman accused in the Rockville Centre wreck, because ‘the same thing could have happened to any of us,’ the head of their union declared Sunday, Feb 26….’We all know Jake Kiefer is too good a railroad man to have deliberately run through a signal,’ Michael E. McMahon of Richmond Hill, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, declared. ‘Why I fired for Jake back in 1923 and 1924. I know he couldn’t do anything like that deliberately. He must have blacked out. That’s something that could happen to any of us.’

“McMahon said that the engineers had started a fund for Kiefer’s defense. “Just the engine men are raising it, but anyone on the railroad would be glad to contribute or to testify for Jake.’…. ‘The union voted unanimously to pay Jake’s legal expenses.’” (Riverhead County Review, NY. “Engineers Back Crash Driver.” 3-2-1950, p. 5.)

March 3: “New York, March 3 (AP) – Investigators report that Jacob Kiefer, the motorman blamed for the Long Island Railroad wreck that killed 31 persons, had been suspended from duty 13 times previously for breaking company rules. Nassau County District Attorney Frank A. Gulotta, directing a grand jury inquiry into the disastrous train wreck, said yesterday Kiefer also had been reprimanded eight times bringing his total number of violations to 21….

Gulotta said a preliminary examination of 165 personnel records of the railroad’s engineers showed 892 violations of rules, an average of about seven a man. Kiefer’s record was ‘not the worst by any means,’ Gulotta said. The 892 violations, in most cases, did not endanger the public, Gulotta said. He added that there were many instances of taking wrong routes, failure to follow signals properly, speeding and collisions.

“A total of 305 personnel records are being examined as part of the investigation into the head-on wreck Feb. 17 on an overlapping section of track at Rockville Centre, N.Y. The data obtained from records examined so far were forwarded to the State Public Service Commission by Gulotta along with these recommendations:

“1. That the P.S.C. conduct frequent inspections with the view of removing from their jobs employees ‘whose records are found to jeopardize safe operations of the trains.’

“2. That engineers and motormen be given periodic physical examinations increasing in frequency as age advances.

“3. That the P.S.C. set up and supervise a system of tests to qualify men for train operations.

“Gulotta also disclosed that on last Sept. 4 the Rockville Centre section of track almost was the scene of a similar headon collision. He said the engineer of an eastbound train went a short distance past the same stop signal Kiefer is accused of passing. In the earlier case, however the eastbound engineer and a westbound train engineer jammed on their brakes in time to avert a collision, he said.” (Associated Press. “Wreck Motorman Violated Rules 13 Times, Is Report.” Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. 3-3-1950, p. 1.)

March 5: “Mineola, L.I., March 5 – Jacob Kiefer, Long Island Rail Road motorman involved in the Rockville Centre wreck on Feb. 17, will not be able to appear for a hearing in First District Court here tomorrow. District Attorney Frank A. Gulotta said today that he had agreed to an indefinite adjournment after learning that the 55-year-old motorman was still under a doctor’s care at his home… Mr. Kiefer was scheduled on a second-degree manslaughter charge. He is free on $10,000 bail. The Nassau County grand jury will resume on Thursday its investigation into the wreck, which took thirty-one lives.” (NY Times. “Wreck Hearing Deferred.” 3-6-1950, p. 20.)

March 9: “….Andrew A Papps, PSC [Public Service Commission] supervising railroad equipment inspector, testified [Grand Jury hearing] the railroad had automatic braking devices 20 years ago. He declared they were removed with Interstate Commerce Commission approval ‘due to false indications and considerable maintenance.’? …. (Riverhead County Review, NY. “Engineers Have 2680 Violations.” 3-9-1950, p. 7.)

March 21: “The Barrett Railroad Safety bill, introduced in the wake of the Rockville Centre disaster to provide governmental supervision of railroad personnel, was approved by the State Assembly Thursday, March 16. The bill passed in the Senate on Tuesday, March 21, by a 42-9 vote but only after a stiff battle. It now awaits Governor Dewey’s signature. Opposition came from the railroad workers’ brotherhood and Senator Walter J. Mahoney. Senator Mahoney opposed the bill on the floor on the grounds it conflicts with several existing railroad acts.

“The bill, the brainchild of Suffolk Assemblyman Elisha T. (June) Barrett of Brightwaters, calls for semi-annual inspection of the safety records of all railroad operating personnel and periodic physical check-ups and personnel responsible for public safety – principally engineers and motormen. This responsibility would devolve upon a commission to be set up by the Public Service Commission.

“The Barrett bill is the first such legislative measure taken in response to public and official clamor for action to prevent future wrecks like the one that killed 32 persons and injured more than 100 when two trains met head-on on a single-track gantlet in Rockville Centre Feb 17. It complements another safety bill introduced by State Senator John D. Bennett of Rockville Centre and passed by the Senate Tuesday, March 14 which would require all electrically-operated railroads to install automatic devices to stop trains that pass stop signals….

“…the Barrett Bill could well have prevented Long Island’s greatest railroad tragedy, since it gives the PSC the power to suspend, discharge, or retire any motorman who is considered unfit – whether for reasons of health or because of poor operating record.

“A companion bill introduced by Senator S. Wentworth Horton of Greenport, calling for the safety supervision measures advocated by Barrett, is awaiting Senate action.” (Riverhead County Review, NY. “RR Safety Bill Provides Supervision of Workers.” 3-23-1950, p. 2.)

March 24: “Mineola – (AP) – Jacob Kiefer, engineer of the eastbound train in the disastrous Rockville Centre railroad wreck Feb 17, was indicted on a second degree manslaughter Charge Thursday night.” (Associated Press. “Engineman Is Indicted.” Norwich Sun, 3-24-1950, p. 1.)

March 31: “Mineola, (AP) – State and federal regulating bodies and the Long Island railroad all are accused by s special grand jury of being at fault in the disastrous Rockville Centre train wreck.

“The grand jury held yesterday that the Feb. 17 wreck, in which 32 were killed and more than 100 injured, was evidence that the railroad failed ‘to give due and adequate consideration to safeguarding the public.’

“In its presentment the Nassau county jury assailed the New York state public service commission, the interstate commerce commission and the state department of public works. The jury said these bodies had shown an ‘insufficient regard for safety’ in letting the railroad operate trains in two directions over a temporary one way track through Rockville Centre.

“Une of such a gantlet track in areas of heavy traffic, the jury said, is ‘needlessly dangerous.’ The railroad was using such a track at the time because of a grade separation program.

“Last week, the same grand jury indicted Motorman Jacob Kiefer on a charge of second degree manslaughter. Kiefer, a motorman on one of the wrecked trains, was accused of running through a stop light before the head-on collision.” (Associated Press. “Jury Blames Company, State and U.S. for Long Island RR Disaster.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY. 3-31-1950, p. 1.)

April 6: “The head-on L.I.R.R. crash at Rockville Centre, L.I., in February which took over thirty lives, was followed by investigations to determine the causes of guilty parties. The engineer of the train which ran through a stop signal, Joseph Kiefer, incidentally a man with a record of long service, is out on bail charged with manslaughter.

“To the defense of Engineer Kiefer this week came Park Commissioner Robert Moses, long recognized as a man of intelligence and integrity and a scrapper from the word ‘go’. Commissioner Moses is appealing for justice in Kiefer’s case and charges that the basic blame for the accident rests upon the Public Service Commission, and the state for failing to go through with its grad crossing elimination program.

“The entry of Commissioner Moses into the Kiefer-L.I.R.R. case is a healthy sign. The engineer will get a fair deal, and the public will have a fighting champion in determining who else besides the L.I.R.R. is at fault.” (East Hampton Star, NY. “Defends Engineer.” 4-6-1950, p. 2.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Engineman Is Indicted.” Norwich Sun, 3-24-1950, p. 1. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/norwich-sun-mar-24-1950-p-1/

Associated Press. “Jury Blames Company, State and U.S. for Long Island RR Disaster.” Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, NY. 3-31-1950, p. 1. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/canandaigua-daily-messenger-mar-31-1950-p-1/

Associated Press. “Wreck Motorman Violated Rules 13 Times, Is Report.” Kingston Daily Freeman, NY. 3-3-1950, p. 1. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-daily-freeman-mar-03-1950-p-1/

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

East Hampton Star, NY. “Defends Engineer.” 4-6-1950, p. 2. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/east-hampton-star-apr-06-1950-p-2/

Fischler, Stan. Long Island Rail Road. St. Paul, MN, Voyageur Press, 2007. Google preview accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=wuAZxfiFnCwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Interstate Commerce Commission. Interstate Commerce Commission Reports, Volume 279, Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States, September 1950-December 1950. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951. Accessed 8-4-2020 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Interstate_Commerce_Commission_Reports/siHR4o3NWe4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=interstate+commerce+commission+report+rockville+centre+train+collision+february+17+1950&pg=PA479&printsec=frontcover

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

New York Times. “Dewey’s Aid Asked For Safety Device to Halt L.I. Trains.” 2-20-1950, p. 1. Accessed 8-4-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/02/20/89725796.html?pageNumber=1

New York Times. “Wreck Hearing Deferred.” 3-6-1950, p. 20. Accessed 8-4-2020 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/03/06/94072170.html?pageNumber=20

Riverhead County Review, NY. “29 Die, 115 Hurt in LI’s Worst Wreck.” 2-23-1950, p. 1. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/riverhead-county-review-feb-23-1950-p-2/

Riverhead County Review, NY. “Engineers Back Crash Driver.” 3-2-1950, p. 5. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/riverhead-county-review-mar-02-1950-p-9/

Riverhead County Review, NY. “Engineers Have 2680 Violations.” 3-9-1950, p. 7.Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/riverhead-county-review-mar-09-1950-p-15/

Riverhead County Review, NY. “RR Safety Bill Provides Supervision of Workers.” 3-23-1950, p. 2. Accessed 8-5-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/riverhead-county-review-mar-23-1950-p-3/

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