New York Cent Co v. United States, 169

• Decision Date: 28 April 1924
• Docket Number: No. 169,169
• Citation: 68 L.Ed. 892,265 U.S. 41,44 S.Ct. 436
• Parties: NEW YORK CENT. R. CO. v. UNITED STATES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

265 U.S. 41

44 S.Ct. 436

68 L.Ed. 892

NEW YORK CENT. R. CO.

v UNITED STATES.

No. 169.

Argued Jan. 17, 1924.

Decided April 28, 1924.

Mr. S. H. West, of St. Louis, Mo., for New York Cent. R. Co.

The Attorney General and Mr. Blackburn Esterline, of Chicago, Ill., for the United States.

Mr. Justice BUTLER delivered the opinion of the Court.

This action was brought in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to recover penalties prescribed by the Safety Appliance Acts. Act March 2, 1893, 27 Stat. 531, as amended April 1, 1896, 29 Stat. 85, and March 2, 1903, 32 Stat. 943 (Comp. St. §§ 8605-8615). Judgment went in favor of the United States. The case was taken by defendant to the Circuit Court of Appeals on writ of error, and that court, under section 239 of the Judicial Code (Comp. St. § 1216), certified a question of law to this court. It is this:

'May an interstate carrier lawfully operate a car equipped with power brakes past an available repair station to destination when its power brakes, becoming out of order in transit, have been cut out of the power brake system of the train and when more than 85 per centum of the remaining¹ cars of the train are equipped with power brakes controlled by the engineer of the locomotive?'

On November 10, 1920, the train, which is mentioned in the first cause of action set forth in the complaint, was made up on defendant's railroad at Coalburg, Ohio. It consisted of 63 cars, all of which were equipped with air brakes and it was moved over the defendant's lines via Erie, Pa., to Buffalo, N. Y. All the air brakes and air brake appliances were in working order when the train left Coalburg, and were operated by the engineer on the locomotive. Some time after leaving Coalburg, the air brakes on three cars became defective, so that they could not be used. Because of the liability of such brakes to stick, and cause delay and damage to the train, the trainmen cut them out from their connection with the line of air hose by turning the cut-out cocks in the cross-over pipes. This made it impossible for the engineer to operate the brakes on these cars, but did not interfere with his use of the brakes on the 60 other cars. He did use and operate them independently of the defective brakes, and thereby controlled the speed of the train without requiring the brakemen to use the hand brakes for that purpose. The three cars with defective brakes were the tenth, fortieth, and forty-fourth cars in the train, counting from the head end. At Erie defendant had repair men and materials available for the repair of the defective brakes. The train was run past the repair station to Buffalo in the condition stated above. The train mentioned in the second cause of action had 80 cars, and the facts with respect to it are in substance the same as the foregoing.

The pertinent provisions of the acts of Congress are:

'* * * It shall be unlawful for any common carrier * * * to use * * * any locomotive * * * not equipped with a power driving-wheel brake and appliances for operating the train-brake system, or to run any train * * * that has not a sufficient number of cars in it so equipped with power or train brakes that the engineer on the locomotive drawing such train can control its speed without requiring brakemen to use the common hand brake for that purpose.' Section 1, c. 196, Act March 2, 1893, 27 Stat. 531 (Comp. St. § 8605).

'* * * Whenever * * * any train is operated with power or train brakes, not less than fifty per centum of the cars in such train shall have their brakes used and operated by the engineer of the locomotive drawing such train; and all power-braked cars in such train which are associated together with said fifty per centum shall have their brakes so used and operated. * * *' Section 2, c. 976, Act March 2, 1903, 32 Stat. 943 (Comp. St. § 8614).

'* * * All cars must be equipped with * * * efficient hand brakes. * * *' Section 2, c. 160, Act April 14, 1910, 36 Stat. 298 (Comp. St. § 8618).

Penalties are prescribed by chapter 87, Act April 1, 1896, 29 Stat. 85 (Comp. St. § 8610), and section 4, c. 160, Act April 14, 1910, 36 Stat. 298 (Comp. St. § 8621).

Pursuant to authority conferred upon it by the act of 1903, the Interstate Commerce Commission, November 15, 1905, ordered that the minimum prescribed by the act be increased to 75 per cent., and on June 6, 1910, ordered it increased to 85 per cent.

Defendant contends that, within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of March 2, 1903, the cars having air brakes which were out of order were not 'power-braked cars' while in that condition, and that the law did not require their brakes to be operated by the engineer, as at all times power brakes on more than 85 per cent. of all the cars in the train were so operated.

The acts of Congress and orders of the Commission above referred to should be liberally construed, to relieve trainmen of the labor and danger involved in the use of hand brakes to control the speed of trains, and to promote the safety of trains and of persons and property thereon. Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. Co. v. Voelker, 129 Fed. 522, 527, 65 C. C. A. 226, 70 L. R. A. 264; Johnson v. Southern Pacific Co., 196 U. S. 1, 17, 25 Sup. Ct. 158, 49 L. Ed. 363. It is the purpose, as soon as practicable, to require all cars to be equipped with power brakes. See In re Power or Train Brakes, 11 Interst. Com. Com'n R. 429. At the time in...