The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-29 00:00:00

FEARFUL BOILER EXPLOSION.

On Tuesday morning, about half-past five, a most
fearful boiler explosion occurred at the Hazard Pit
of the Blaydon Main Colliery, which is situate
about five miles from Newcastle. Blaydon Main is
one of the two collieries in the northern coal trade
that produces the well-known cannel coal, employed
to make gas. The Hazard Pit has only been sunk
six or seven years, but the Blaydon Main establish-
ment has been in operation considerably aboie a
century, the plentiful supply of coal in the district
inducing the famous London Alderman, Sir Am-
brose Crowley, to establish extensive ironworks in
the adjacent villages of Winlaton and Swalwell in
the early part of last century, and from which esta-
blishment the Royal Navy had its principal supply
of anchors and ship iron during the great American
and French wars. The main engine for pumping
the water out of the Hazard Pit, which it does at
the rate of 600 gallons a minute, is supplied with
three boilers, and the machine for bringing the coal
up and taking the men in and out of the pit has two
boilers. The whole of these were at bank, and stood
in a row, the main-engine boilers being on the out-
side. Of course, both engines are worked night and
day, and during last night the main engine wits in
charge of Joseph Gray, the machine being in charge
of Wm. Holmes, both described as steady men.
The engines are regulated upon the float and valve
principle, and it is stated that six weeks ago the
float of the engine that has burst got wrong, and
that Holmes was scalded in putting it right. About
half-past five both he and Gray had been on the
top of the boilers, examining them, and Gray states
that they found them right, and welt supplied with
water. They were coming down. from off the
boilers, and David Johnson, the fireman under
Holmes, was getting up on the boiler-seat, when
one of the two boilers driving the machine, that
next the machine-house, exploded wall awful force.
Holmes and Johnson were lifted a considerable dis-
tance into the air, and then thrown. on to the pit-
heap in a fearfully mangled condition, and dead.
Holmes fell on the gangway, and he was precipi-
tated with such force from off the boiler that in his
fall he broke two slabs which were 24- inches thick.
Gray was lifted about 10 yards, but, singular to say,
lie was little the worse. A little driver lad, named
Wm. Hubbard, wko had come to warm himself at the
furnace fire before he went down the pit, was hurled
among a mass of ruins and killed, and. another driver
lad named Laverock had one of his. thighs and an
arm broken, and was otherwise badly hurt. The
token keeper, Matthew Henderson, 'had been to the
furnace of the boiler that exploded about a minute
before the occurrence to procure a shovelful of live
coal to kindle his fire, but he found that green
coals had just been thrown on, and he went to an
adjoining furnace, and was about tom take a shovel-
ful of coal, when the boiler he had just left ex-
ploded. Except a rap on the shins he is nothing the
worse. The force of the explosion was terrific.
One side of the boiler flew into the anachine-house,
breaking down the wall, smashing:great balks of
timber, and destroying everything in its way, and
leaving the machine building a perfect wreck.
Great stones and parts of connecting pipes
and timber were hurled in every direction,
and many of the pitmen, who. were coming
to work, had very narrow escapes from being struck
down by them. A great stone was hurled through
the roof of a neighbouring farinhorese, and a steae
of a similar size was pitched through one of the
office windows, smashing everything before it. The
machine for drawing the men cut of the Fit was com-
pletely disabled by the effects of ties explosion ; and,
as there was a considerable number of men employed
below at the time, a " crab" was rigged, and they
were brought to bank as speedily as possible. The
pit will be laid off work a fortnight by the accident
but it is a fortunate circumstance that the explo-
sion did not happen in the boilers connected with
the main engine, or else the pit might have been
drowned with water before the damage was repaired.
The boiler that has burst was from eight to nine
years old, and had been repaired about a fort-
night ago. Mr. Dunn, the Government Inspector,
visited the pit this afternoon; and if the quarrel
between the county magistrates and the coronor—
Mr. Ramsey, the owner of the pit, being by a coin-
cidence a Durham county magistrate—is sufficiently
arranged as regards the payment of the fees of the
coroner, it is probable an inquest will be held, when
the facts with regard to the condition of the boiler
at the time of the explosion may be deposed to on
oath. Holmes, a steady, decent young man, has
left an aged mother, whose sole support he was.
Johnson has left a widow and three young children.
It is a providential circumstance that the explosion
did not occur half an hour later. At that hour, six
o'clock, the drivers and putter lads gather from
the neighbouring villages to go down into the pit,
and as the morning was cold a crowd of them would
have been gathered round the furnace fires, and
from the amount of destruction that has occurred
there would have been an awful slaughter among
.hem.

[ADVERTISEMENT.]—Mr. Benson, L udgat e-h.. 111, has Just
published a new Illustrated
pamphlet oil watches (free by post
for two-stamps). It .should be read byl
andimp
all who are about
informa-
buying a watch, as it contains p
where to buy it ortant
and how U.
ton as to—What watch to buy
use it!
rADVERTISEME. NTT• j—Nolhing can be more interesting
than the numerous extraordinary cures Without medicine•
of indigestion (dyspepsia), flatulency, constipation, nervous,
bilious, and liver complaints, cough, asthma, consti•
pation, and debility effected by Du Barry's delicious
Health-restoring Revalenta Arabica Food. we
eive a few :—" Winchester, December 3, 1847.
Etentlemen,—l am happy to be able to inform you that the
person for whom your Revalenta was procured has derived
very great benefit from its use ; distressing symptoms of
dropsy, dyspepsia, and constipation of long stand-
ing have been 'removed, and a feeling of restored
health induced ' Having witnessod the beneficial
effects in the above mentioned case, I can with confi-
dence recommend it, &c., &c. John Shorland, late surgeon
96th Regment."—Cure No. 48,314: Miss Elizabeth Yee.
man, Gateacre, near Liverpool—A cure of ten years' dys-
pepsia, and all the horrors of nervous irritability.—Cur•
No. 46,814—Mr. Saml. Layton, Leicester, of two years diar-
rhma.—Cure No. 52,612—The Dowager Countess of Castle-
stuart, of many years nervous irritability,bile' and indigestion.
In tins, at ls. 6d. ; 11b., 3s. ; 21b., ss. 9d. ; 51b., 125.; 121 b.,
265, The 101 b, and 121 b, tins carriage free, on receipt of post-
ofvice order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, London;
Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly' Albis, 60,
Gracechurch-street ; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and 150, Oxford..
street; 330 and 451, Strand ; 49 and 60, Bisb.opsgate.
street ; 8,5, Tottenham-court-road. Also at Dublin.
Bewley :and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Relines and Co.'
at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew ; at Manchester, Sharp and
Scott; at York, Refines, Blanchard, and Co..;:litt Soy dlto
3=004 nodal =4 Sou.