Re: Moving across the track from the switchstand

The Robinson wreck was a classic case of what the rule requiring not standing next to the switch was supposed to prevent. Not only did the fireman stand near the switch, on the same side of the track as the switch, but he also unlocked the foot treadle prior to the arrival of the opposing train.

Apparently, this action by the fireman made the engineer a little nervous because he saw the fireman do something with the switch, but he did not know what it was. So he tooted the horn, apparently as a way of asking the fireman, “Do you know what you are doing?” Then apparently the engineer’s doubt raised doubt in the mind of the fireman, and he began to second guess his actions. On one hand, he felt secure in his decision to unlock the treadle to save time in pulling out after the meet. But on the other hand, he felt that maybe the engineer knew something he did not know. Then the engineer even flashed the headlight on and off probably having the effect of further heightening the worry in the fireman's mind that he might have something wrong.

The drama of the approaching train raising the stakes probably rendered the fireman incapable of deciding on whether he was right or wrong. So, in the end, he decided he had the switch wrong, and he threw it to make it right. But he had it right, and his last ditch decision to line it right actually lined it wrong. That entire drama perfectly illustrates the reason for the rule to not stand on the same side of the track as the switch during a high speed meet.