[milwaukee-electric] Re: Milwaukee slums during the 1940s and afterward

[Scott Greig]

In this case, the owner WAS the motorman.  Maeder was a longtime trolley fan who enjoyed periodically operating trains on "HIS" railroad.  However, I don't believe that he had ever gone through a proper training and instruction program like TMER&L (and TMER&T) had used.

After years of studying the events of the day, my conclusion is that, at some point after speaking with Tennyson at Brookdale Siding (where he was trying to sort out the seriously-delayed NMRA specials) Maeder got an idea in his head that if he could catch all the signals just right, and get up to West Junction before LeRoy Equitz came south with the next charter train, he could make up his lost time coming back downtown.  

To me it was very telling that Maeder violated his own operating rules (as well as the orders he had imposed on the charter trains that morning) by telling John Heberling to let him through at Oklahoma Avenue.  I suspect that his mind was focused on getting ahead to the Junction, and that he either never looked at the signal, or looked at it and "saw" what he was hoping to see.  

Scott.

--- On Tue, 11/9/10, Gary Schnabl <gSchnabl at SWDetroit.com> wrote:

> From: Gary Schnabl <gSchnabl at SWDetroit.com>
> Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Milwaukee slums during the 1940s and afterward
> To: milwaukee-electric at lists.dementia.org
> Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 6:10 AM
> On 11/8/2010 11:07 PM, Don L.
> Leistikow wrote:
> > Gary S and list:   You've a lot of
> catching up to do.   Books and
> > magizine articles have explained the mechanics of
> TMER&L's Rapid Transit
> > Lines.
> >
> > Briefly, Tackage Rights were held by schedules. 
> Any crew retained those
> > Rights for up to, five minutes later than the
> scheduled time.  Being
> > later than that, required the crew to 'phone-in', on
> Company private
> > phone lines. strung along the tracks.  All other
> (Extra) trains, were
> > required to obtain 'Train Orders' from the Dispatcher,
> located in the
> > PSB Terminal in Milwaukee.
> >
> > Early On.....  The then popular Nachod Signal
> Company of Louisville, set
> > up their White and Red illuminated signals, to provide
> additional
> > protection on single track lines.  These were not
> Block Signals but,
> > were Permissive or Stop signal aspects.
> >
> > This system was in place between passing sidings,
> which were 'Home Free'
> > spaces.  Company phones were installed at each
> and every, Siding.  For
> > the record, these Nachod Signals could hold 12 counts
> meaning.... that
> > following cars could enter a WHITE permissinve signal
> block by counting
> > in... and then as each car was counted out at the next
> Siding,  no cars
> > waiting in said Siding, could enter in the opposiite
> direction, until
> > all opposing counts were satisfied.
> >
> > When no cars were in the single track block, the
> Nachod Signals were
> > DARK, at both ends.
> >
> > Such, was the setting, on the day of teh most horrible
> accident.
> > Neither train saw the other as they met on a reverse
> and elevated curve,
> > centered on National Avenue, former STH 15.
> >
> > As that date was my day off, 9/2/50... I hurried out
> there to observe
> > the situation.  From the Greenfield Avenue bridge
> over the mainline
> > double tracks, I could see the first Nachod Signal,
> just past the West
> > Junction landing, where the single track HC line
> began.  It was WHITE.
> > That meant that the companion opposing signal at
> Oklahoma Siding.... was
> > RED.
> >
> > After the accident was cleaned up, various persons of
> knowledge were on
> > hand to test the Nachod Signals.  They were found
> to be.... in perfect
> > working order.
> >
> > Not generally known, is that when a car enters a RED
> Nachod Block... a
> > count must be entered.  Physically, the RED
> aspect will drop out, a
> > WHITE aspect will appear as the count was
> recorded.  Then the WHITE
> > aspect will drop out and the former RED aspect... will
> return.
> >
> > Testimony in Court, substanciated a WHITE aspect was
> observed.  True,
> > but that WHITE did not stay lit. It dropped out.
> >
> > Speedrail, did have insurance, expensive, as it was.
> >
> > Don L. Leistikow, Speedrail Badge 9
> Regarding the accident: How come the engineer/motorman blew
> the block 
> signal(s)? Was there just one signal that was blown that
> day?
> 
> One would think that the motorman would be even more
> careful than usual 
> when the owner was present. Or was the owner merely another
> distraction 
> up front?
> -- 
> 
> Gary Schnabl
> Southwest Detroit, two miles NORTH! of Canada--Windsor,
> that is...
> 
> 
> 
> 
>