The Contribution of the Diesel Locomotive to Trainmen's Safety on US Railroads, 1927–1954

The widespread diffusion of diesel locomotives in the United States after the Second World War reshaped nearly every aspect of American railroading. This article explores the contribution of the diesel locomotive to trainmen's safety on U.S. railroads between 1927 and 1954. The author begins by outlining the various dangers associated with steam engines, including locomotive boiler or cylinder explosions and broken rods. Bad maintenance often caused accidents. The author discusses how both methods and materials improved over time as a results of a group of modifications in design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Other topics covered include the Interstate Commerce Commission, the dangers of steam, the unions, and the risks and benefits of the diesel engine. The author concludes that while steam locomotives had once been dangerous, steady progress in technology and work practices, along with federal regulation after 1911, had greatly reduced the risks. Although the evidence suggests that when diesels arrived they reduced accidents per locomotive by as much as 60 percent, yet because the risks from steam were already low, the improvement in safety from the change to diesels was quite modest

Aeronautics · Diesel fuel · Diesel locomotive · Transport engineering · American Environmental and Regional History · American History and Culture · Automotive Engineering · Engineering · Transportation Systems and Infrastructure

• Energy transitions and the workplace cost of carbon fuels,1917–1940

  Mark Aldrich•Labor History•2019

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