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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 9 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
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| 1904 | 6 |
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| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 1 |
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| 1923 | 1 |
78 stories matching brake
- Coxey's Army on Trial: Seattle Laborers Testify About the Yakima Gunfire
In federal court in Seattle, members of the Commonweal Army described how deputy marshals clubbed and shot at unemployed men trying to ride a train east to present the Coxey bill to Congress.
- Fatal Train Wreck Near Cle-Elum
A sleeping brakeman’s lapse leaves a freight train to roll backwards into a collision, killing a stowaway.
- The Tragedy at Trent: A Deadly Railroad Collision
A passenger train and a freight train collide in a fatal error, killing a brakeman and prompting a rare condemnation of corporate negligence.
- The Emergency Brake of 1892
A clever new mechanism for Seattle's Woodland Park streetcar line promised to stop a runaway trolley car within its own length.
- The Day the Railroad Stopped: How Two Boys Nearly Derailed a Train in Seattle
In October 1876, a group of mischievous youths removed the brake from a freight train at the Northern Pacific terminus. A lucky passerby noticed the danger just in time, averting a potential catastrophe that could have turned Seattle’s early rail history into a tragedy.
- The Bridge That Saved a Life: A Near-Miss on the Seattle-Maplewood Line
Engineer Harry Bingham’s split-second brake application stopped a speeding passenger train just feet from a fallen horse and rider on a trestle bridge, averting a catastrophe that would have shaken the city.
- The Runaway Street Car on Battery Street
When the brakes failed on a steep Seattle incline, passengers faced a terrifying ride as their horse-drawn car hurtled down the tracks toward the waterfront.
- A Terrifying Case of Mass Hysteria on the Ballard Line
A motorman and conductor abandoned their moving streetcar in fear, triggering a chaotic panic among passengers that led to multiple injuries.
- The Long Struggle for Train Safety
After a decade of agitation, new federal law mandates automatic couplers and air brakes to end the slaughter of railroad brakemen.
- A Section Foreman's Death at Gilman, and the $100 He Sent Home to Ireland
J. G. Caroian, a Lake Shore road foreman, was killed switching cars at Gilman. His Odd Fellows lodge will bury him at Marysville; his aged mother in Ireland will get no more Christmas money.
- The Tragedy at Spanaway Lake
A man’s body, found tethered to heavy freight car brake shoes, offers a grim mystery in the woods near Tacoma.
- Fatal Tramway Accident in Garfield County
Two men were killed instantly after a brake failure on a Snake River tramway sent their car hurtling into a powerhouse.
- A Ten-Inch Snowstorm Buries Seattle and Stalls the Cars
The city's streetcars, telegraph wires and outlying districts struggle under a heavy January snowfall as Portland reports three feet and the weather observer warns of more to come.
- Cable Car Conductor Sues for Permanent Injuries
Charles Brevort, a conductor for the Madison Street Cable Railway, claims a carelessly handled car with faulty brakes left him permanently disabled and unable to support his family.
- Two Freight Trains Meet Head-On at Van Asselt
A Northern Pacific freight slammed into a Columbia & Puget Sound train near the Denny Clay works, injuring a passenger and forcing crewmen to jump.
- Brakes Fail on the Yakima River Embankment
A young woman leaped into a runaway automobile as it rolled toward a ditch, highlighting the dangers of early car ownership.
- A Rough Road for Blackman Brothers
A massive timber haul turns into a dangerous mishap, highlighting the perils of Snohomish's logging industry.
- Streetcar Accident Maims Local Working Horse
A runaway streetcar in Tacoma injures a horse, highlighting the dangers of failing public transit infrastructure.
- The Industrial Army Marches Across Washington
Unemployed men, dubbed 'Coxeyites' or 'Industrial Soldiers,' seize freight trains and defy officials in a desperate push toward Washington D.C.
- The Wooden Revolver That Freed Ten Prisoners
Thomas Blanck held a jailer hostage with a carved fake gun, emptied the King County jail, and vanished into Seattle's streets.
- The Cowcatcher Lifted Her Into the Air, and Then They Took Her Home
An elderly Native woman walking the Northern Pacific tracks below town is swept up by the overland express — and walks away from it, carried off by her mother and son.
- The City’s New Fire Engine Takes a Dive
A brand new, expensive fire engine rolls off a wharf and sinks into the bay during a botched test run.
- The Narrow Streets of Early Seattle
A three-year-old child is severely injured after being struck by a cable car on Front Street, highlighting the dangers of growing city transit.
- The Man Who Wasn't There: Tacoma's Gripman Dies from a 'Minor' Car Accident
Sylvester Farrell, a beloved streetcar worker and union member, succumbs to injuries sustained weeks earlier when a broken cable strand caused his car to jerk. His death highlights the hidden dangers of early 20th-century transit labor.
- The Runaway Cable Car of Madison Street
A silent, uncrewed cable car plunges down the steep grade toward Lake Washington, resulting in a fatal collision and a sobering coroner's inquest into transit safety.
Also about this, in other words
- Fatal Slip at Orillia
A railroad brakeman was crushed to death while performing routine switching operations at the Orillia rail yard.
- A Community Rallies After a Railway Tragedy
When a young brakeman loses his foot in a rail accident near the Cedar River, local citizens organize to secure his future.
- Drunken Brakeman Crushed on Northern Pacific Line
A railroad worker is killed near Meeker after falling between cars while intoxicated.
- A Dangerous Fall at the Calispel Spur
A railroad inspector suffers a broken collarbone after stepping off a train in the dark and falling twenty feet into the river bank.
- The Brakeman's Fall
A train brakeman sues the Oregon Improvement Company after falling into a pitch-black coal chute at night.
- Streetcar Smash-up on the Spur
A motorman is seriously injured in a collision at a local woodyard after a switch fails to be reset properly.
- Tragedy on the Tracks at Spirit Wood
A broken axle on a work train leaves a trail of injured men and death on the Northern Pacific line.
- A Fatal Nap on the Tracks
A tired freight brakeman, exhausted by days of overwork, pays the ultimate price after falling asleep on the job.