Seventh, Eighth

Through a thick mist one morning last week two fast trains ran close together on the line from Berlin to Cologne and Neunkirchen. Ahead was a Berlin-Cologne Christmas special, jampacked with third-class passengers. Behind was the regular Berlin-Neunkirchen express. As the Christmas special slowed down for Genthin station, near Magdeburg, the express passed a stop signal. Either the engineer did not see the signal, or its mechanism was faulty. Without slowing down, the express ploughed into the rear of the special, telescoping three flimsy third-class coaches. When rescuers had counted up the dead and injured there were 132 killed, including the engineer of the express, and 109 hurt.

Less than 24 hours later, on a single-track line north of Lake Constance, a passenger and a freight train collided headon, killing 52, injuring 40. Railway officials in Markdorf and Klustern, between which towns the trains were running blamed faulty signals, were arrested nevertheless.

These were the seventh and eighth railway wrecks in Germany since the war began, bringing the total number of killed to 289, of injured to more than 250. Though no evidence of sabotage was found, rumors spread. A more likely cause, or contributing factor: bad condition of rolling stock and other equipment, which has not been properly repaired or replaced during Germany's five-year rush to rearm.

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