FREE INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE 



23 



THE ELIMINATION OF GRADE-CROSSINGS IN CITIES 



the means of protection that can be devised for their safety, it is not uncom- 

 mon to find the view expressed by some pubHc authorities or by newspaper 

 writers that it is the duty of railroad companies absolutely to prevent acci- 

 dents at grade-crossings, and it is often assumed that the railroad company 

 would save money by eliminating grade-crossings. All fair-minded persons 

 will assent to the proposition that, when a railroad company has adopted stan- 

 dard means of protection at a grade-crossing and an accident occurs through 

 refusal of travelers to heed the warnings given by automatic bells, watchmen, 

 or safety gates, the railroad company is not responsible, legally or morally, for 

 the consequences of the accident, however sad or regrettable it may be. Rail- 

 road managements, however, from motives of humanity, in order to prevent 

 the accidents that experience has shown occur with frequency at certain cross- 

 ings through the recklessness of travelers on the highway, are generally wilhng 

 to spend, for the elimination of such crossings, large sums of money, which 

 they know will be absolutely unproductive, when any reasonable terms can be 

 made with the public authorities. 



Another item, not usually considered, is the loss of revenue to the railroad 

 from business along the changed line. In thickly settled communities the 

 profitable business of the railroad is largely dependent upon the number of 

 industrial connections to the railroad, such as manufactories, coal-yards, etc. 

 The elevation or depression of the tracks due to the elimination of the grade- 

 crossings causes the severance of a large number of these connections, many of 

 which can never be reconnected. This results in a large loss of business. In 

 the city of Philadelphia, on the Reading System, Table 5 shows the number of 

 these connections before and after the work of abolishing the grade-crossings: 



TABLE 5 



INDUSTRIAL CONNECTIONS BEFORE AND AFTER ELIMINATION OF GRADE- 

 CROSSINGS IN PHILADELPHIA 



Not only does the railroad suffer a loss of revenue from the severing of 

 these connections, but the properties themselves are frequently placed in such 

 a position as to curtail their future usefulness, which is a public detriment. 



