Down Brakes: A History of Railway Accidents, Safety Precautions and Operating Practices in the United States

487 pp. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Fascinating history of railroad accidents in the United States and the resultant safety precautions and operating practices. The book provides a chapter-by-chapter accounting of the numerous causes of the various disasters (ignoring signals, speeding, brake failure, explosions, misreading orders, signal errors, faulty rail, sabotage, floods, obstructions, dragging or broken parts, etc.) with a discussion of the efforts to correct the problems. The book also includes material on interurban, electric street railway and subway disasters. Illustrated with black and white photos of the wrecks.