Rickety Rails

Early one morning last week, a Pennsylvania Railroad freight train was chuffing through the Juniata River Gap, west of Huntingdon, Pa. A heavy steel plate broke loose from its lashing on a flatcar, swung out wide. The P.R.R.'s crack New York-to-St. Louis American was passing on the adjoining track. The steel nicked the engine, scraped three mail and baggage cars, then slashed murderously into the side of a coach. Sleeping passengers were hurled, dazed and bleeding, into the aisle. Another plate toppled over to the opposite track into the path of an eastbound freight, derailed the engine. Five were killed. Of the 40 injured, some were badly mangled.

It was the second wreck of the week for the Pennsylvania, and its tenth this year. Since Jan. i, 36 people have died, 352 have been injured on P.R.R. trains.

On all lines, according to the Interstate Commerce Commission, there have been 45 "serious" accidents (defined as one in which a passenger is killed or seriously injured) so far this year. In the comparable period of 1946, there were 26.

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