12/10/1930 - NEW YORK, NY

[shlustig]

Accident occurred on the West Side line between Spuyten Duyvil and W. 72nd St. in the early AM and resulted in 1 fatality and 2 injuries.

A parade of freight trains Dp. DV starting around 4 AM and made various stops en route to the W. 30th St. Yard. Trains included FJ-2, Extra 2719, KN-4, HN-4, and BN-10. At 4 separate points, HN-4 closed up to KN-4 and stopped in response to the flagman's signals as KN-4 had closed up to the stopped train ahead. After proceeding, they passed through the Ft. Washington Cut and over the Viaduct when in the vicinity of W. 124th St. KN-4 stopped again and was rear-ended by HN-4 which was doing about 18mph. The rear-end crew was in the caboose at impact, and the caboose was partially telescoped and crushed. Downed electric lines set the wreckage on fire.

Accident site was at the end of a left-hand curve, but the fireman on HN-4 failed to see the markers on the train ahead in time to avoid the impact. Territory was within "Yard Limits", so the speed of HN-4 was questionable as they should have been prepared to stop short of an obstruction, especially since they were aware of the trains ahead.

[Allen Hazen]

West 124th Street. That would be just north of where the West Side line goes underground (under Riverside Park).
Extra 2719 puzzles me, though. In 1930, 2719 would have been a steam locomotive (I would guess an L-2). Were steam locomotives allowed on Manhattan Island?

[Backshophoss]

From DV to MP7.02(W 132nd st) in track 1 ,Eastward,and from MP 6.41(W 123 st) to DV,Westward had ABS Block Signal on the Branch.
So Basically from W 123 st East(south) was "Yard Limits" to the "bitter end" of the Branch.
The most restrictive aspect was "Stop and Proceed"
This was 3rd rail territory,Freight Motors and early diesel switchers wandered here.

[Statkowski]

Extra 2719 puzzles me, though. In 1930, 2719 would have been a steam locomotive (I would guess an L-2). Were steam locomotives allowed on Manhattan Island?

The New York Central had used boxed-in Shays for street running below 34th Street or so, before the High Line was constructed, so steam engines apparently weren't totally prohibited on Manhattan Island. Perhaps the Central ran out of electrics and this was an "emergency" use. The 60th Street Yard May have had engine facilities, but no turntable, so an L-2 would have to be run in reverse to the wye at Spuyten Duyvil in order to turn it (the nearest turntable was at Harmon).

[NYCRRson]

"Were steam locomotives allowed on Manhattan Island"

Before 1908 yes. After 1908, not on the route into Grand Central. The NYCRR had already investigated the advantages of electric propulsion (less smoke, higher train density) and a bad accident in 1903 (a stop signal was missed due to smoke). After that accident NYS passed a law restricting steam loco's on the route into Grand Central. The law took effect in 1908, the NYCRR had converted the "through trains" over to electric power (before and while GCT was being built). The original electric/steam loco change over point was at High-bridge (Bronx ?). It was later extended to Croton.

Steam loco's were used on the west side after 1908. In 1924 NYS passed the Kaufman act that tried to eliminate all steam engines in NYC, this met resistance from the railroads;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaufman_Act" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lawsuits went back and forth and technology progressed until the 1930's when the high line, tri-powered locomotives and eventually diesels displaced steam lococ's from Manhattan Island.

So a wreck on the west side in 1930 could have involved a steam locomotive.

Cheers, Kevin.

[Noel Weaver]

I am prettty sure I read somewhere else of the use of steam on the West Side Freight Line. I don't think steam was ever banned in New York City as the Long Island used steam until about 1955 and the very last regular use of steam on the New Haven was the Van Nest Shop Switcher which lasted for a year or so after the last steam runs took place in Boston.
Noel Weaver

[Allen Hazen]

Thanks for replies!
I hadn't fully realized the implications of the 1930 date: the boxcab 3-power locomotives were built in 1930 (prototype, with fore and aft hoods, in 1928). According to Wikipedia on the Kauffman Act, the New York Central, after several years of footdragging, agreed to eliminate steam from the West Side line (north of 72nd Street) in … 1930. So my guess is that there might have been some steam-hauled freights on this line up to 1930, and only after that was the line exclusively diesel.
Quick glance at Stauffer: 2700s seem to have been L2 Mohawks built in about 1926. So maybe, up to 1930, Mohawks WERE used on the West Side Line… even if they had to back out!