The Locomotive - Lighthouse Survival Blog

178 THE LOCOMOTIVE. [Decembbb,
it more nearly than any other, in this respect.* In the Friedenshutte explosion twentytwo
boilers (four of which were empty) burst simultaneously. Three firemen were
killed instantly, and nine other men were injured so badly that they died three days
later. In addition to these, thirty men and women were more or less severely injured.
With regard to the explosion at Shamokin we may say, that the destruction was so
o-eneral and so complete that it is difficult to find a satisfactory explanation of it. If
the boilers had been insured, we should have had an accurate knowledge of them which
would, undoubtedly, have been of great service ; but in the absence of such definite
knowledge, we cannot say positively what the cause of the disaster was. One of our
most experienced men visited the scene of the explosion shortly after it occurred, and
we present the following extracts from his report
"When I reached the site of the Henry Clay colliery the ground was pretty well
cleared up, but I managed to see a good many broken sections of the boilers, most of
them partly buried in the culm banks with the fractured ends projecting upwards, and
also many broken steam and water pipes, steam and water valves, fire fronts, and beams
for supporting the boilers. I also made numerous enquiries from employes who were
present both before and after the accident ; but their statements were so conflicting
that I am in doubt as to the correctness of any of them. However, I will give you the
facts as I have obtained them. There were thirty-six plain cylindrical boilers, each 34"
in diameter and about 44 feet long outside of the heads, the heads themselves being of
cast-iron, flat or nearly so, and about two inches thick. The sheets were single riveted,
and varied 'n thickness from .26" to 1 %". I was informed that there were six batteries,
with six boilers in each. The individual batteries were further separated by longitu-
dinal division walls whose thickness I could not ascertain, into groups of three boilers
each, in such a manner that in every case three boilers were set over one fire, and con-
nected at the front and rear and top and bottom of the heads by cast-iron water and
steam pipes 3" in diameter. Each sub-battery of three was also provided with a cast
steam pipe, 12" in diameter and about 8 feet long, with 3£" flanged outlets that con-
nected with 6" cast-iron nozzles riveted to the center sheets of the respective boilers,
and also with two 4" flanged outlets, on top, for safety-valves. There were two 3£"
safety-valves to each sub-battery, or four such valves to each battery of six boilers. In
addition to these openings in the steam pipes that I have described, there was, in
each one, a 4" outlet on the front side, and to this was connected a 4" pipe about 5
feet long, at the end of which was a 4" tee shaped stop-valve. The stop-valves were
connected to a 12" cast-iron pipe, built up of eight-foot lengths, and extending across
the entire battery of 36 boilers. At the center of this main pipe there was a 12"
cast-iron tee, to which was connected a 10" wrought-iron pipe, which led down to the
breaker, and from which the pumps were also supplied.
" On the top of each boiler were riveted cast-iron flanged hangers with cored open-
ings for hanger bolts and cotters; and two heavy cast-iron beams with cored bolt holes
extended across each nest of three boilers, some 10£ or 11 feet from either end, the
boilers being suspended from them by hangers. The feed and blow connections were
attached, in every case, to the bottom of the shell, at the rear end. I saw some feed-
valves, but no checks; and I am not sure that there were any checks. Pumps were
used to supply the boilers, and there were also heaters, though I did not find out what
kind of heaters they had. Ninety to ninety-five pounds of steam were usually carried.
and sometimes the pressure was up to 120 pounds. [Assuming the iron plates of the
* The Friedenshiitte explosion is described and illustrated in The Locomotive for June,
: