10 October - Grip of Death
The cable car system in Chicago, when installed in the 1880s, was ahead of its time. For a while, Chicago was even home to more cable cars than anywhere else in the United States. Their dominance on local traffic was short lived however, lasting only until the early 1900s. Their effect on transit — and the fear they instilled in passengers — strike locals today as more than a little bizarre.
To get past the river, tunnels were dug out under the water. These meant that the grip cars had to go down an incline to enter the tunnel and then crawl back up the opposite side. Multiple car lines would go through each tunnel, relying heavily on their brakes to make sure the descent and ascent were controlled. These cars also frequently had multiple trolleys attached, usually two or three, to accommodate more passengers. The cars were open, allowing for ample room for the passengers to embark and alight as needed.
Unfortunately for many Chicagoans, the brakes on the grip cars failed from time to time, sending terrified passengers on an uncontrolled ride to the bottom of a tunnel under the river.
In February of 1894, H.S. Holden met a terrible fate when his fear of an impending accident overruled his judgement of the situation. He was on a packed Wells street car on which the conductor was having trouble. The driver found that the grip weren’t quite working right, and it was decided that the car would be taken in to be fixed before continuing on its way. It went off its path, still full of passengers, and towards LaSalle street, where there was a turnaround in the track. This way, it could reverse its course to head back to the car barns so that an engineer could examine it. Horses were attached to the front, pulling it along the turn, and as the car picked up some speed they were unhitched so that the car could use momentum to move forwards.
It turned out to be too much. The car started towards the tunnel, and it wasn’t till then that the conductor realized the brakes had completely failed. He started to panic as the car entered the descent towards the tunnel, picking up speed. Passengers inside saw what was going on and began to leap off the moving car. Those on the edges of the car were nearly pushed off as everyone panicked, realizing that they were headed for potentially a huge crash at the bottom of the tunnel.
People leapt without abandon. Several were injured, including a few who almost hit the tunnel wall, leaping out just before the car went underground. Holden, though the conductor tried to hold him back from jumping, leapt once they were inside the tunnel. He made a fatal mistake however and jumped just at a slight curve, managing to crush his head against a brick wall. His body lay limp over the tracks as the car hit the bottom of the descent and started up the other side from the momentum, and then came back down. It ran over Holden’s body, taking off the top of his head and ensuring that he was dead, if there had been any doubt prior.
In December of that same year, another terrifying accident with grip cars and the tunnels occured that, strangely, caused no loss of life. A Milwaukee street car with several trolleys attached, all full of people, was in the Washington tunnel, halfway through its ascent to the exit when the conductor realized the grip was failing. He could do little as the car started to fall backwards, and the panicked passengers began jumping off into the darkness of the tunnel.
Just behind him a Madison street car in the same tunnel began its ascent when it saw the falling Milwaukee car in front. The Madison street conductor at first stopped his progress, then decided to hurry up to try to meet the falling car. He figured if he could stop it before it gathered too much speed, the accident would be slight. He might even be able to stop it, using the brakes on his own car.
The two cars hit, causing a small collision, no injuries, but much horror to all the riders. Both cars then slide backwards to the bottom of the tunnel, the Milwaukee one having hit the Madison car hard enough to push it off its tracks and turn it sideways. They came to a rest at the deepest part under the river, the Madison car drunkenly laid horizontally across the tracks. Thankfully, no injuries were to be had, though 150 people had been at risk on both of the cars.
It was obvious that new brakes needed to be tested for the grip cars and the tunnels. With these incidents in mind, it was likely that Chicagoans rode cable cars with a bit of fear, adrenaline pumping up every time they had to enter the tunnels. Despite this, for some horrifying reason the companies decided to test the new brakes in a rather unconventional matter.
Shortly after midnight one summer day in 1895, a Madison street car was entering the Washington tunnel. The sleepy passengers didn’t realize anything was amiss at first, but soon the car began to pick up speed, careening out of control. Just when they realized that they were about to hit the bottom, the conductor slammed on the brakes and the car stopped suddenly. Everyone lurched forward at the sudden stop and smoke drifted over the car, caused by the friction of the brakes against the steel. The passengers were upset and confused, and the conductor told them that they’d just been part of an experiment to test out new brakes.
Everyone grumbled as the car went on its way. Yet once again, as soon as it reached the top of the incline to get out of the tunnel, the conductor let it slide backwards, picking up speed until again he hit the brakes, and again everyone was jerked out of their seats.
Happy October 10th, and don’t let anyone try new brakes on you without your consent.