Industrial Hazards on the Railroad
Two railroad workers suffer horrific injuries on the same track within a single day, highlighting the extreme dangers of manual labor in the 1890s.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Two sad accidents on the same job occurred on the Columbia and Puget Sound railroad on Monday. In the morning, while coupling in Black Diamond, Charles Anderson, a brakeman, had his left hand caught between the bumpers. He was brought to Providence hospital Monday morning, where one of his fingers was amputated, and he may perhaps have to lose one or two more. Later in the day the man who took his place, John Aasen, a green hand, with a wife and two children, had his left arm caught at Renton, and he was also taken to the hospital. He jumped over the cowcatcher and ran ahead to turn a switch, and in doing it fell through the trestle with both feet. The engine was right upon him and he had to use his hands to extricate himself. He pulled one of them off but he had to use his arm to release the other. He then sank flat, and the engine ran over his leg, the entire calf of his leg was peeled clean from the bone. It is very doubtful that the leg can be saved.
“The engine was right upon him and he had to use his hands to extricate himself.”
This brutal account of railway injuries in Black Diamond and Renton underscores the high human cost of the region's industrial expansion. While labor laws have since changed to protect workers, the 'green hand' narrative—where inexperienced workers are put into dangerous conditions—is a recurring theme in labor history.
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