Gaines v. Chester Traction Co.

Citations

• 224 Pa. 52
• 73 A. 7
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 726

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Collision at steam railway crossing— Trolley leaving wire — Stranding of car across track.</p> <p>1. Where the trolley of an electric car leaves the wire when the car is passing over a steam railroad crossing, without any negligence on the part of the street railway company or its employees, and the car becomes stranded and is run into by a locomotive, a passenger on the electric car who is injured cannot recover from the street railway company where there is nothing to show that the parting of the trolley from the wire was due to any defect in the construction of the car, or to any lack of care on the part of the motorman or conductor, or that the latter were negligent in attempting the crossing.</p> <p>2. An electric railway car arrived at a grade crossing over which the tracks of a steam railroad company were also laid. The safety gates were down when the trolley car arrived but were soon raised by the gate tender, an employee of the railroad company, thus inviting those in charge of the trolley car to pass over the crossing. Before starting his car the conductor walked ahead as was his duty, looked up and down, saw the track was clear, and then signaled the motorman to bring the car over. While passing over the crossing the trolley came off the wire and the car stranded across the railroad tracks. An engine of the railroad company standing about seventy feet distant at the time the trolley car started to make the crossing, suddenly and slowly without warning, began to move in the direction of the crossing and its speed being accelerated as it proceeded and no effort seemingly having been made to stop it by those in charge of the engine, a collision with the stranded trolley car resulted and the plaintiff was injured. The trolley car was in good repair and the tracks and overhead construction were of the kind in general use, there was no allegation of faulty construction or of careless or insufficient maintenance, and no evidence