Baker Bridge train wreck

Lyons told a Boston and Maine representative that he had observed two cautionary block signals and two red-fire flares (fusees) that had been thrown by the brakeman of the local train, but by the time he reacted he was already upon the rear of the train. Witnesses testified that the brakeman had thrown the flares, and the burned-out flares were found near the tracks. Thomas F. McHugh, the station operator, stated that after the local train had left he hung a signal lantern out to notify passing trains that another train had just left the station.[5]

On November 27, Boston and Maine President Lucius Tuttle released a statement stating that the primary cause of the accident was Lyons' failure to heed cautionary signals.[5]

On November 29, Judge John S. Keyes of the Concord District Court held an inquest into the accident. The three-hour inquest saw testimony from 31 witnesses and evidence gathered by detectives from the Massachusetts State Police. Keyes chose to make the inquest private and reporters were not allowed in the courtroom. The inquest concluded that Lyons was at fault for the crash and he was charged with manslaughter.[6]

The case was brought before a grand jury which found that Lyons "was greatly at fault in not slowing down sufficiently, and for disregarding the cautionary green lights...[and] for disregarding the red fusees", but chose not to indict him.[7]

The grand jury's report criticized the Boston and Maine Railroad's operating rules, which allowed an engineer to run his train as close to another train as he wanted and did not clearly assign the rear brakeman the duty of flagging oncoming trains when his train was stopped at a station. The jury also found B&M's system of signals to be inadequate, as it did not indicate that the stopped train was less than five minutes ahead and none of the signals required the oncoming train to fully stop. B&M's policy of assigning inexperienced engineers to express trains was criticized as well. The jury faulted B&M's working conditions, finding that they should not have permitted its engineers to work for 16 to 18 hours a day for five consecutive days.[7]

The grand jury also faulted the crew of the local train for overrunning Baker Bridge station in such a way that it made it difficult for an oncoming train to see its rear lights and for not sending a flagman to stop the Montreal express.[7]

The Massachusetts Railroad Commission held a public inquiry into the wreck.[3] The commission's report stated that Lyons had seen at least one of the fusees as well as the spacing signal and failed in his duties by disregarding rules that required him to slow down. It also found that the railroad rules were too "uncertain and inconsistent" and "left too much discretion and responsibility with the train hands". Two rules the commission criticized were Rule 99, which required a flagman to deliver a danger signal if a train may be overtaken but in practice was only used if "something out of the usual course...had occurred" and Rule 703 which read that "Enginemen must never run past a red signal displayed on the track" but in practice did not apply to red fusees. The commission recommended having trains stop, then proceed with caution upon seeing a fusee or spacing signal, a rule that had previously existed on the Fitchburg line but had been done away with. The commission also recommended that the state legislature require railroads and street railways where trains or cars followed each other in quick succession to implement a signalling block system.[1]