The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-10-29 00:00:00

Tflr. BROGKMOOR BOILER EXPLOsION.

INQUEST AND VERDICT.

Mr. E. B. fnorney croft (de_ptley coroner) resumed
el enquiry at the fowe Had, lirL.rley Hill on
fuesday, on the bodks of George Hussey (19),
ioseph 11--,ekley (33), Semuel Meese (49), William
gamey (41), Titotnae ilueiey (54), Therea; Wa.t r
-Jesse/ .2.1), and iward tetway (36), who lost
h jr lives oeiae :o the explosion of a boiler at
lireckneeJr. Mr George Perri; solicitor. eteur-
bridge!, represented Mthars. Brown and Freer, the
eroprietore of the works; tr. E. B. Martel and •sir.
-I.hort spe.-avd on beeall of tha Midland Steam
As,•uraece Comps:, Red Supari,teedent
Woollasteti r present, d the pelic=., authorities.
Wdlien Gtessol.i, th,.lcatef engineer, was recalled
.-ad said he mete a second exanduation of the ex-
bee. r, and basidee the seam rip meatione,l
a hi:- forin-r exaulination be feu A that the spindle
tne stop valve Wad bent, and tee Jibe! ty between
and tne face banal nt to r.,2iese tie boke:- of
encid,ei peessure. Had the valve been in proper
eerl,tion -the boiler ougot net to have x doled
ae satety-vaive tv,s in poet eonditioe, but it re-
st.titte.l it werktne teeter. It was hie duty to
iespect the safety-eulve on Vie Monday eeto e the
xp.isiea. but ne wee I 0 i 13 we, aol thtt duty
levelved semeotie else. He di' mak, a pa,tiee.
,xaalieetto on te • feti •ee- g dy. bat had he made
a, fall examinet on ha w:ntel have found it gieovel
:ad weave; t;.c s.an The s aen rip wauld
Le AY') n Ii it 11.131 U ti wnrk th, boio,r
1., t,) 501 a. or Gjlb Witaess (lid net p.-etend t •
el), toe -eoiler woeid hire exploded at 60Ib. ;
he
:Juin not .eit w 'at preAsure wee •on the boiler at
*zte line it explot.'.ed. 'fhe "aoiler had been invecteki
eternally only a short thie before the explosion ;
zee externel examinatiou wee Usually made in the
spritg ;laws. It wa3 tee duty of the man on the day
•-a n OSJU to tn.': valves, but Ur, wgiat into would
~euely have a iooe ar. thew wt:en he caeie
fee removel of thc weights from the coneter,
oii•4;el oat i er.ase toe p esire. bet not bryund
301 b., ant t:4) stap-vaive. even in tt a con:Mien it
would. tie :IA .mlliceet. By th • jury Wit
:losse it a:)t exot ani.lea rsin cf t•-i.
steam eiti. hnn.eth. v • [rec., e h expes:eu, tee
he eel not u,ns. er tes stop vitt • al o :eteer late.
de could n say to what pr•Sfill'e th
•v, &ii atelY o •it up to. fh, wa,,er supoly waa
w,us, a I the condieoa of the stop-vale,
aneet hey, teee (nutted by tli xplosion and he
eeititl not possibly say whether it stood one-
-eeteeetn or t ire six.e.euths before the exelosioe ;
ae nougat th, former. 'file step-talve woricieg
eiree tly tv..ul r Itcv ex- re pres-u- a The r-
die 141 b. weigA from th, cnititer-bnloic.•
‘.y lute n t ai4, the pre.,sare CO-2i dan4eroue
eogree. By .A.r. Pe:ry 'Tee s:ain-rip must hate-
exieted n:fore the explosion, uut it was under tee
.ap, led *as not to be seen.
jetties tin at, an assietant- neineer and one of
.he iejured na n. next gave eveience. He Wa3 stii
that he bad to be PssiAted in 0 the room : Eir
aaid leke stai te 1 the boil r oi toe night of the
xli fl, anei wine s only looke .1 after the oiling
e: the rd 4 and nachia-ry. in be c 3,111 no', nay
anything as to the condition of the caves Wh n
•e weig it, were oa In C env er-belaece th.•
eressure woul.l b und- r3O b.

CI-7een, wcuki inanar, and Thomas
.ibut, were also :ailed.

I.:ke (recalLti said the blowing off ot
-teain the stte:y-valve inignt h-Ave (I,e---.tvett hint as
=o uf Ur:3 stop valve, which, !iowever,
'te thought w..s ta workiuz order. When he
zed the trei,lii;s olvy intea,te to raise th 6
pressure Vp'23lb. to the bg.tare inch, an.l his regu-
.-ttion w.uid wive been ri4ht had the kop•vatir.-
.),ea working. He was not by ail boiler at the

aml eetieon etie-t leave seet the step-va!ve
witeout his knowledge.
eieeeeer On the etee tee it, A:6111e
,pen d the step. valve three eieete ot ae inch a
!leven o'cleck in the morning, aiel be could net
iceeuei for it ge.tiug el eted, a.--; he led- it locked.
in E. B. Mertene C E.. stated that he ex iuirie
:he boiler Ce 3 morning after the accident. tie eget
nowe the -oiler einca 18+13 I! was a two-furnace
ge, tselek. Run bad been wider hie hispeetion sinct
.seat date. It eas inspected by Mr. Suort t tie day
eetere ihe tEp!o,ioll, and to,.:•tt there was one or two
eke, which clef- eta were poieted oet in th
repurz. seat -o tee empleyer o the nigeit of the ex-
ple in. The .leUcts spoken of would not account
for the explosion. He found the stop-valve and i•
w. 6 lii impresti m teat it was shut dowe, but the
iedice would not all .w him to neeke an iespeltiii tet
ie The fact of the valve being.like tha a ter an
zp:osioe was no proof that it was in a simea
•-r,adUo at ut Cat,: oi tre nuaideut. Mr. .4,hort's
inspection au: report w--re sa•isfacto y to tilt
iesuranee Company, which had i surest the boiler
or £5OO In the inspec(ion he ha 4 made of the.
eiter he found two pates blown out of the breast
Lit the boiler, an I one of these was thinner than any
• 4 those, retraining. He also found a seam rip,
wnich was only obervable after a moat minute
hispection. r p weu;cl, of con as, reduce the
mesdne, pressure, weieh but. for its ex stence would
ee 160 h. It was his opinion that hod it not been
for the a sin rip the boestieg preaure of the boiler
would have been 1801 b. or upw,rds. lie had to
suomit a report to tne coroner andjury wite his de-.
decei;nis, waieh were that the boiler must have ex-
ploded by tee elosies of tne te op-valve, or that the-
point of fraet,ire must have been weaker than an
eutside teepection would show or lead one to suppose
The report was hauled in, ant Mr. (1.11r,e-l's
evidence was illustrated by need .Is, which clearly
Ahoweft the .ohaition of the heifer after the ex-
Mr. J. 13h r' eel the result of his eximieation.
refer ed to by Mr. Myeen, ea.s that tne boiler was
ti and safe. tied he foiled it otnerwiee he seould
nave informei tee firm, and bed the boi4ir stopped.
ile attributed the explosion to over-pressure He
lute net discovered any seam rip or indication of
a..ain rip. To mielit hive remained
with-nit being discovered unless' for the tact
that a boiier beieg cut oef w :teld cause a consiJere
ebie dimileition of steam pow, te The boiler might
-lave bur. 4 it 601 b Theru was every appearence eel
tie ooiler hat in its fell complement of water.
Tie, Coroner thee en nuied up. He said that,
there lied beau a terrible accident and a
serieu- 10-s of )iti,. it (.I.id net follow that anyone
was criminally liable, and to be punished. There
eutild hr Litle diffleelty etj acriviusnt Oa Cittise of
:teeth, acid the jury weuei have zo weigh the facts
eoneereitig the tense of the explosion. They
would have to dire their attention to the sleep-
y:live, the 4areey-v tted the seam rip. The law
imposed on aum i-e an engineer on duty, and ii
that duty was neelected the law held that it was
.liandlAtighter. So far as he could judee the men
seemed ree.aely respeataele men, and teey had given
their ace Jun of ttie matter in a Ktraightforward way.
Tee Uorouer then ter:erred to the evidence which
itad beau eive and oxpreesed the hope that the
jery weuld wive i ne matter every attention, keowing
sa in. th it many of teem were fully conversant,
with the subject in had.
Mier is If an hour's deiheration the jury returned
the foliowing verdict :—(1) The jury are t,f opinion
unanimously that the deaths were caused by tb.
explosion of a cerain Restrick holler at the i-on-
works of Meesrs Brown and Freer, at Broekmoor.
on the 11th October. (2) The jury are of opinion
that the explosionlwas net causal by any deficiency
or want of water, but by the weakness of the
boiler in a tegioe of a certein seam rep, which, boles
undiscovereble in the examination of the boiler,
was the ca,..lse of the expiosion, end the deaths
were brougnt abeut accid-?.ntally." 'the jury
added a rider, that they were of opin:on that ali
boilers should be periodically tested by
_hydraulic
pressure, by which steam rips and other weak planes
w.:uld be more readly detected.
The inquest lasted sir hours.