CYOA - Building an Empire - 52

      You sit back and watch as other railroad companies adopt the new signaling syste. Believing that the old fashion signal houses are much better, you relax and watch your railroad operate. Your confidence is soon destroyed when you read in the paper that two of your trains collided near Detroit.
      The eastbound goods train E152 blasted through the signal house CP54 outside of the city. The engineer charged down the track at full speed. E152 rounded a blind turn to find the passenger train Motor City Limited waiting at a red light, directly in the path of the freighter. There was nothing the engineer could do. The heavy engine plowed through the passenger cars. 25 passengers were killed. The investigation into the collision revealed that the signal man at CP54 fell asleep. The engineer of E152 received a “clear” signal when it should have been “stop.” The investigators concluded that human error was to blame. But they also noted that the old signaling system was partly to blame since it relied on people to operate it.
      Your company faces many lawsuits from the families of the victims. Your company’s reputation is destroyed. Profits take a dive as passenger ridership drops and former business partners cancel their contracts. Your company is eventually purchased by the Union Pacific.

THE END