Mark Worrall and Benjamin Bernhart 146 pages hardcover
This is the story of rail disasters throughout the state of Michigan during the first four decades of the Twentieth Century. Extensive in nature, this publication provides an excellent exploration of the many hazards of rail travel, at a time where employees and passengers often put their own lives at risk. During this time interval, numerous innovations made rail travel safer and the number of deaths and injuries were drastically reduced. Wooden rail cars were replaced with cars of steel construction. Automatic block signals, along with automated train stop devices, were developed. Yet, as you will learn, the majority of rail disasters occurred not by outdated or faulty equipment, but by humar error.