Thomas v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.

109 Mo. 187
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 15, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 109 Mo. 187 (Thomas v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co., 109 Mo. 187 (Mo. 1891).

Opinions

Sherwood, C. J.

Action for damages brought by plaintiff as widow for injuries received by her deceased husband while in the service of the defendant company, resulting in his death.

The deceased had been in the employ of the company as night switchman in that particular locality since the preceding August, but prior to that time, and during the winters of 1884-5 and up to April of the latter year, he was employed as a switchman in the same yards.

The accident in question occurred about three o’clock in the morning of February 17,1886, in the yards of.the defendant at Nevada. Defendant, at the date aforesaid, had a number of sidetracks and switches at said place, and what is commonly known as a pass-track, for storing cars that were to be distributed for various points. The switch, which enabled cars to be removed from the main line onto said pass-track, was north of defendant’s depot. The yard, from the north part of said switch, gradually sloped towards the south end of the yard; so that when cars were switched in [191]*191from the main, track on the north onto the pass-track they would run down of their own momentum to the south part of said yard, unless stopped with the brakes thereon. The Lexington & Southern road runs from Pleasant Hill,'Missouri, while the Missouri, Kansas & Texas runs from Hannibal, Missouri, through Nevada, to Denison, Texas. Nevada was a distributing point for all cars coming over either of said lines, which were to be transferred from one to the other. The station agent of said city of Nevada had superintending control over said yards, and there was also employed by him at said date a night yardmaster and two night switchmen, who were required, among other things, to couple and switch cars and make tip trains in said yard after said cars were distributed as aforesaid. Defendant also had at that time a car inspector at Nevada, whose duty it was to inspect all cars, coupling apparatus, etc. Cars coming from other roads were switched off and transferred by defendant at said point, and it was apart of deceased’s duty to assist in coupling and uncoupling the same, the petition expressly alleging that it was the duty of the deceased, as night switchman, to manage switches and couple cars and engines together.

Among the cars which came into defendant’s yard at Nevada for distribution, at and prior to said date, were what are commonly called fruit cars, containing the Miller patent coupler. These cars usually have platforms about three feet wide, running clear across each end of the car, and if the drawheads pass each other when a ear of this kind is coupled to an ordinary freight car there is nothing to prevent the platform from coming in contact with the end of the freight car, in consequence of which a person between said cars, under the circumstances, would necessarily be injured. The Miller coupler is used, so that the cars containing same [192]*192may be attached to either freight or passenger coaches.. It is in use on all passenger coaches, and is so arranged that when two cars, both of which contain the Miller-patent coupler, come together, they will couple themselves. It is necessary to use a link and pin to couple an ordinary freight car and the Miller coupler together. On the Miller coupler there is a groove into which the drawhead of the other car containing a similar coupler fits, when the cars come together. These couplers are fitted with a spring which presses them to the left, and when they come in contact they slip past each other until they come to a catch. In this way they act automatically, and couple themselves. The ordinary freight cars have a drawhead with a large pocket on the top, flaring wide, so that when the ears come together they cannot well miss each other. The Miller coupler has a small pocket, and it slopes to the outside and lets the link run around it.

The undisputed evidence shows that the coupling of an ordinary freight car to the Miller coupling is attended with greater danger than an ordinary coupling of freight cars, and that a switchman who once uses the Miller'' coupler will readily recognize that there is great danger in making such couplings, unless made with care and caution.

All the witnesses who testify upon the question agree that the only safe way to make a coupling like that attempted- when deceased was killed is to put the link in the Miller drawhead, fasten it with the pin, properly adjust the link, and then couple to the freight car.

It was in evidence that the fruit car in question came in to Nevada about half an hour before the accident happened, and was loaded with oranges from the state of California, and at each end and at the sides of this car were the customary wire screens for its ventila[193]*193tion, which were obvious to ordinary observation, and the fragrance from the oranges was readily discernible at a considerable distance from the car. It is in evidence, also, that the orange season in 1885 began in the month of December, and from January 15, to the seventeenth of February, some twenty-five of these Miller coupling fruit cars had come through defendant’s yards at Nevada, deceased on several occasions having coupled ordinary freight cars to the Miller coupler fruit ears, and no injury had hapened to anyone in consequence of coupling such cars. The particular car belonged to the Central Pacific Railway Company and was part of a freight train, and came in to Nevada about half past two o’clock on the morning of the seventeenth of February, and was coupled to an ordinary freight car. The car inspector of defendant inspected both the Wabash car and the fruit car almost as soon as they came in to Nevada, and before any coupling was attempted and found that the coupling apparatus and other machinery of both cars were sound and in good condition. As the oranges were perishable property, necessitating their being sent forward at once to their destination, Kansas City, the fruit car was first taken to the pass-track.

Switchman Shea got on this car, and after it had run down about one hundred and fifty yards from the north end of the switch he set the brakes and stopped it. Hollister, the yardmaster, had in the meantime sent . in on said pass-track a Wabash freight car, similar to those in use by defendant on said pass-track, and was proceeding to look after same and couple it to the fruit car, but before he got to the Wabash car deceased came' out of the switchman’s shanty with his lantern lit, passed by the fruit car, and of his own accord, without any direction from the yard master, or anyone else, climbed on top of said Wabash car and commenced [194]*194setting the brakes thereon, so that he conld get it under control before it came down to where he desired to couple it to the fruit car. When Hollister saw that deceased was looking after the Wabash car he went back to look after some other cars. He had no conversation with deceased, and never saw him again until he was killed.

Before the couplings were made Brownell, the conductor, who, as he testifies, was making up the freight train for Kansas City, and was there, taking the numbers of the cars which were to form that train, while doing so, took the numbers of the Wabash car and of the Central Pacific or fruit car; and while the Wabash car was some ninety feet from the fruit car, and proceeding slowly towards the same, saw the deceased running ahead towards the fruit car in order to make the coupling. The link was then in the drawhead of the Wabash car,

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Bluebook (online)
109 Mo. 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-missouri-pacific-railway-co-mo-1891.