Schleich v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Citations

• 245 Pa. 184
• 91 A. 253
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 857

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Railroads—Trespassers—Child playing on tracks.’</p> <p>In an action against a railroad to recover for the death of a' child, it appeared that the defendant company had its railroad tracks laid on a strip of ground belonging to it and running east and west along the south side of an avenue, the grade of which was six or seven feet above that of the railroad. Plaintiffs’ son, a jboy about nine years old, with a companion crossed the avenue and descended to defendant’s tracks where they found standing on the northernmost track a westbound train consisting of forty-five or fifty coal cars which had become stalled for want of steam. All the crew of the train with the exception of one flagman were on or about the engine or its tender. The flagman had been stationed one block behind of the rear of the train. When steam was gotten up, the engineer gave the signal recalling, the flagman. Five minutes elapsed before the latter regained the train. During that time plaintiffs’ son succeeded in climbing upon a car which stood fourth or fifth from the rear of the train and got down inside of it where he was completely hidden. Within a minute or two after the boy had boarded the train the flagman reached the rear car and gave the engineer the signal to start. As the flagman signalled the engineer he had looked along first one side of the train and then the other and he had observed none near it who could be hurt by its motion. When the train had moved about five car-lengths the flagman observed plaintiffs’ son sitting on the north side of the ditch between the railroad tracks and the avenue embankment with his leg cut off. Held, that a nonsuit was properly entered.</p>