Missouri Pacific Railroad Company v. Rose

385 S.W.2d 492, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2456
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 19, 1964·No. 14314·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

BELL, Chief Justice.

Linda Lou Rose, through her next friend, sued to recover for damages sustained by her because of the loss of her mother and father who were killed June 1, 1961 when the automobile driven by her father was in collision with a train of appellant, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. The conductor in charge of the train is the other appellant, W. E. Smith. The court, based on a verdict favorable to appellee, rendered judgment in appellee’s favor in the amount of $130,000.00.

In the case of Missouri Pacific Railroad Company et al. v. Linda Lou Rose, Tex.Civ.App., 380 S.W.2d 41, we sustained a judgment in appellee’s favor for damages she recovered against appellants for personal injuries that she herself received in the collision.

The collision occurred at the intersection of State Highway 288 and the railroad tracks in the City of Angleton. The highway runs generally north and south and the tracks run generally east and west. The collision took place around 3 :15 a. m. Mr. Rose was driving his automobile north. The train was proceeding west. The crossing is controlled by flasher signals which, it may be deduced from the evidence, were not working.

The evidence shows that an engine was headed west, pushing four gondola cars ahead of it. The cars were painted black and were of low silhouette. The stationary headlight on the engine shone above the cars, according to some evidence thus failing to illuminate them. The cars, in the aggregate, were from 200 to 225 feet long. The automobile came into collision with the lead end of the lead gondola car. The automobile' was being driven in the lane of traffic next to the center line.

The basic theory of appellee is that appellant Railroad was negligent in the manner in which it operated its signal system which was tied in with the activation of the flasher warning at the crossing. The facts are that at a point 64½ feet east of the east curb of Highway 288 is Block Signal 3203. There are two discs on this signal. The upper controls the movement of trains on the main line. The lower controls the movement of other trains. If the two discs show red all trains must stop. This last statement is subject to appellee’s contention that Mr. Hobbs, trainmaster, issued a directive in 1957 to authorize crews on “track and time” to ignore these red signals. TJie activation of the flasher signals at the crossing is tied in with this Block Signal. If the two discs show red, the flasher signals will not be activated until sometime after the lead end of a train passes the signal. The evidence shows that it would .normally be activated when the lead end ,of the train reaches a point 64½ feet east of the highway. There is also evidence to show there is sometimes a lag between the time this point is reached and the time the flasher signals are activated. There was evidence that a 20 second warning should be given the traveling public by the flasher signal at the crossing. Appellee’s theory is that on the morning in question the train crew was operating on “track and time”; that it passed through Block Signal 3203 without stopping when the upper and lower discs were red; that the flasher signals did not work; that there was no proper flagging of the crossing and the collision resulted.

The jury convicted appellants of negligence, that proximately caused the collision, in the following respects:

1. There was a failure to operate the automatic signal system properly.

2: There was a failure to properly flag the crossing.

*496 3. The railroad wired the block signal 3203 so the crossing signal would not activate until the train reached or passed it when the discs were red over red.

4. The railroad located signal 3203 closer to the highway than was proper.

5. There was a failure to flag the south side of the crossing.

6. J. B. Hobbs caused signal 3203 to be operated pursuant to track and time procedures.

7. Track and time procedures, as applied by the railroad, required the crew, when on track and time, to pass signal 3203 when the discs were red over red; the crew was following track and time procedure; this involved an unreasonable risk to the public; that Mr. Hobbs was notified of the danger and refused to discontinue the procedure.

8. 'Appellants failed to give such warning of the approach of the train as would have been given by a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care.

In the case cited contributory negligence was not material since appellee there sued for damages resulting from personal injuries to herself and her father’s negligence, if any, could not be imputed to her. Here suit is to recover damages resulting to her because of the loss of her parents. The negligence, if any, of her father is therefore material.

Appellants asserted Mr. Rose was negligent in a number of respects and that such negligence proximately caused the collision. The jury, in response to defensive issues, made the following findings, the effect of which was to acquit Mr. Rose of alleged negligent acts:

1. He was not operating his automobile at an excessive rate of speed.

2. : He- did not fail to keep á' proper lookout.

3.His failure to apply his brakes was not negligence.

There then followed these answers to issues submitting phases of Article 6701d, Sec. 86, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.St.:

1. The electric signal device was not working and clearly visible at a time when the driver, had he been driving said car as a reasonably prudent person, could have brought said automobile to a stop within 50 feet, but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail.

2. That the train was not plainly visible and in hazardous proximity to the crossing at a time when the driver, had he been driving the car as a reasonably prudent person, could have brought said automobile to a stop within 50 feet, but not less than 15 feet from the nearest rail.

3. That as the train approached the crossing the horn or whistle on the engine was not emitting a plainly audible signal.

4. That as the train approached the crossing the automatic bell was emitting a plainly audible signal giving warning of the approach of the train.

5. That the failure of the driver of the car to heed the warning given by the automatic bell was not negligence.

Appellants complain that there is no evidence to support the submission to the jury of Special Issues 1, 5, 6, 8 and 27. These issues deal generally with the operation of the flasher warning signal at the crossing, as above reflected by the jury’s answers. Too, appellants contend the jury’s answers to the issues are so contrary to the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be clearly wrong. The same points are made with regard to Special Issues 2, 7, 9 and 28, which are the proximate cause issues relating to the above negligence issues.

We will not set out the evidence relating to these issues but for a fairly extensive ■ statement of th'e evidence will *497

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Missouri Pacific Railroad Company v. Rose, 385 S.W.2d 492, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2456 (Tex. Ct. App. 1964).

385 S.W.2d 492 (Missouri Pacific Railroad Company v. Rose) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Southern Pacific Co. v. Castro
473 S.W.2d 577 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1971)
Tom Brown Drilling Company v. Nieman
418 S.W.2d 337 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1967)