Death Rides the Rails

Henry Keckeisen's death certificate

Railroading can be a dangerous profession.  When I worked for the railroad I had a number of what I would call "near death" experiences where my life could have been forfeit if not for luck or a quick thinking coworker.  I recently received an email from someone who had read this blog and wanted to share the story of her great grandfather.  It is a story that has been repeated all to often over the years.

Pere Marquette locomotive taking on water

Henry Keckeisen was a locomotive engineer for the Pere Marquette Railroad in Chicago in 1909.  The Pere Marquette operated passenger trains out of Grand Central Station.  On August 11th, 1909 Keckeisen was backing his locomotive down to the station in poor visibility.  This movement required him to put his head out of the locomotive cab window to improve his visibility.  It's first important to understand that the steam locomotive did not afford much opportunity for good visibility when operating it in either direction.  The boiler to the front and the coal/water tender to the rear were large obstructions to the engineer's sight lines.  Both the engineer and fireman would be sticking their heads out the cab windows to watch for interlocking signals and the proper positioning of switches for their movement.  Given the poor visibility of the day Keckeisen's attention would have been focused on that task.

Water spout

What he did not see was the water spout that had been left in the lowered position rather than stored in an upright one.  Steam locomotives required copious amount of coal and water, and it was the responsibility of the fireman or locomotive hostler to fill the tender with these commodities and safely stow the chutes and spouts after use.  I would assume that Keckeisen was in the engine terminal where these supplies were found.  In that case all the switches that he would have to safely move his locomotive over were hand operated and could be left lined in any position.  One of the cardinal rules of railroading is to ensure that all switches are properly lined for safe movement.

Typical track arrangement in a railroad yard with hand operated switches

Keckeisen was struck in the head by the lowered water spout and died of his injuries two days later.  We do not know if the spout had been inadvertently left down by a distracted employee or if there was a mechanical problem that would not allow it to be raised into a safe position.  He left a widow, Francis, and a young child.  The tragedy was compounded 13 days later when his wife Francis succumbed to tuberculosis.  Henry was 28 and his wife was 29.  Five year old Earl Edward was left an orphan in the care of his 85 year old grandfather, and later his aunt.

On August 17th a lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County against the Pere Marquette and the Chicago Terminal Transfer Company, owner of the tracks for the amount of $10,000 by Francis.  After her death the lawsuit was pursued by Keckeisen's father and sister. Henry Sr. also petitioned for burial expenses which were paid.  In 1910 the railroads offered a $3,000 out-of-court settlement which the lawyers urged the family to accept.  After court and legal expenses they received a little over $2,000.

In an era before the Federal Railroad Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, there appears to be no more than a cursory investigation into the cause of this fatal accident.  Today, private law firms specializing in railroad injury and death claims are available to employees and their survivors.  Railroad Retirement provides death and survivor benefits.  Federal regulatory agencies carefully monitor railroad safety and will levy fines against railroads for violations.  Despite all this, the job remains inherently dangerous.  Railroads still continue to try to coerce employees and families into settlements to avoid costly litigation.  Many railroaders today still define a good day at work as when you can come home and haven't gotten fired or killed.

Special thanks to Cathy Keckeisen Razor for the information used in this post.