The Locomotive - Lighthouse Survival Blog

1901.] T H E LOCOMOTIVE. 35
A good deal of trouble had been experienced, at this place, from the breakage of
the cast-iron man-hole covers that were used. Our inspector, in examining one of the
boilers, observed a bright spot on the man-hole frame at the point marked a; and upon
investigation he found that the covers were of such a shape that the frames did not rest
properly against the packing around the groove
in the covers, because the outer lips of the
covers were so deep that they were apt to come
in contact with the frame at a, or at some
similar point. The result naturally was, that it
was hard to make a tight joint ; and the work-
men, with more enthusiasm and muscle than
forethought, screwed the tightening nuts up so
faithfully and earnestly that a tremendous strain
was thrown on the covers. The result was,
that these covers cracked, as shown at 5,
almost as fast as they were put in. In one case
the crack was found to extend around the
cover fully as much as is indicated in Fig. 4.
These, and a hundred other small things that are not often described in point,
serve to illustrate the advantage of having even the newest boilers examined by a com-
petent inspector.
Boiler Explosions.
December, 1900.
Fig. 4. Showing the F.xtent of
the Fracture.
(345.) — On December 3d a boiler exploded on Mr. Kern Craig's farm, in the
northeastern part of the town of Celina, Ohio. Nobody was injured.
(346.) — On December 3d a boiler exploded in the electric lighting plant of the Chi-
cago & Northwestern Railroad Company, on Kinzie and Kingsbury streets, Chicago,
111. August Clamman, Anthony Krause, August Weiss, Joseph Speight and Henry
Schnorr were killed outright, an6i Arthur J. Scully, George Kelles, and one other person
died, not long afterwards, as the result of their injuries. Some nine other persons were
also injured. Two sides of the boiler house were blown out, and the electric machinery
was ruined. The property loss is variously estimated at from $50,000 to $100,000.
(347.) — A boiler exploded on December 5th, at the Pearson Coal Mine & Railroad
Company's coal mine, near Birmingham, Ala. The boiler was thrown about 1,000
feet. Fortunately nobody was near the boiler at the time, so there are no deaths nor
personal injuries to report.
(348.) — On December 5th a boiler exploded in the power house of the Los
Angeles & Pacific railway company's plant, at Sherman, Cal. Fireman Robert Walsh
was killed, and Engineer W. D. Langdon was painfully injured. The explosion oc-
curred in the middle of the night, or there would doubtless have been a much larger
list of casualties to report. The power house was destroyed. One of the drums of the
boiler was thrown a quarter of a mile, and another was thrown an eighth of a mile.
(An extensive illustrated account of this explosion will be found in the issue of Power
for March, 1901.)
(349.) _On December 6th a boiler exploded in Robert McDaniel's sawmill, near
Linton, Hancock county, Ga. William Prescott and Horace Ray were instantly killed,