Ohio State Fair
September 1916
The Columbus Railway Power & Light Co. set up a safety display at the 1916 Ohio State Fair. Railroads can be dangerous places with many ways to get injured. Educating the public so they don’t become careless around the moving streetcars must have been a constant concern.
In addition to the photo of the exhibit, four of the photos demonstrating unsafe practices have survived and are included here. The display looks like it might have been a little too wordy to engage the typical fair goer.
In 1917 the Ohio State legislature passed legislation outlawing side loading open cars thus eliminating one safety hazard from the city’s streets.
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In the left corner of the corral is a circular frame with a lantern hanging over it. This is a safety guard used to protect an open manhole. The CRP&L also supplied Columbus with electricity and the downtown area with steam for heating. That is where the manholes came in.
Photo from the Dave Bunge Collection.
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Part of the photo has been enlarged to show a little more detail. Click again on the photo to further enlarge.
Photo from the Dave Bunge Collection.
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The woman is focused on her family and doesn't realize she has stepped in front of a moving streetcar.
Photo from the Alex Campbell Collection.
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Don't get on a moving streetcar. Wait for the streetcar to stop first. Don't try to catch a streetcar leaving the stop.
Photo from the Alex Campbell Collection.
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A small boy running across the street to see his friends.
Photo from the Columbus Memory Collection
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Some Columbus streets were extra narrow leaving the distance between double tracks without enough space for a passenger to ride the footboards of an open streetcar. While the photo is staged the danger was real.
Photo from the B.J. Kern Collection