The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-29 00:00:00

THE CATASTROPHE ON BOARD THE ROYAL

MAIL STEAMER PARANA.

SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY NIGHT.
The inquiry into the circumstances attending the boiler
explosion on board the Royal West India Mail Company's
steam-ship Parana, opened yesterday, was resumed this
afternoon, before Mr. Coxwell, coroner for the borough of
Southampton.
Captain Robertson, R.N., of the engineering department
of the Board of Trade, was present to watch the inquiry
on the part of the Government. Captain List., managing
director of tho Royal Mail Company, Captain Vincent,
the superintendent, and Mr. Mills, chief engineer of the
company, were also present.
Mr. Robert Ritchie was then called. Ho said -I am
foreman, under Mr. Mills, in the engineering department
of the Royal West bidia Mail Steam Packet Company. I
was acquainted with the engines and the boilers of the
steamship Parana. I have examined the boilers today
and yesterday. The starboard forward boiler has a rent
in the after part, at the root of the steam chest of the
length of 8 feet. In the forward part we found a rent to
the extent of 14 feet, and of a width from the point
of the steam ()hest to the shell of the boiler of 9 feet.
There are 16 cross-stays in the boiler, all of which are
carried away. Fourteen of these stays are one inch
and a-half in diameter, and secured to the shell of the
boiler by angle irons 9 inches long and 3•# by 2t inches
wide. Two of them are 11 inch diameter only, and one of
these is a little defective now, so as to be equal to only
five-eighths of au inch in fact. Those stays were secured
to the boiler by nuts fastened inside and outside, and the
forward stay has been strong enough to tear a piece out of
the shell 'of the boiler. I cannot find anything to lead
Lae to—believe-the-boiterroakriffiefienatt abate at
the tinie of the accident. The gfneral oubstavca of the
44ates of the boiler is three eighths of an inch.— that
the general thickness. • I have risen thinner plates used
for boilers of the•same description, but we do not use
them at Southampton. I have been inside the boiler,
and have examined carefully the edges of the rents; there
is no part presents any particular appearance. The sal
water and steam which escaped at the time of the acci.

dont, combined with the heat, have so blackened the edges
that nothing can be ascertained from them. In the after
/rent there is a patch, where a piece of iron was put on
when the boilers were repaired two years ago; but I remem-
ber very well that that was' done not for the purpose of
strengthening the boiler, but to stop a leakage of steam,
observed in the passage of the ship from London. 1 can
discover nothing to account for the accident. Yesterday,

on first going into the boiler, I found the safety valve open
to the extent of about an eighth of an inch. This would
not be sufficient for the escape of a large quantity of steam.
It, however, showed the state in which the chief engineer
had left the valve.

By Capt. Robertson—With the valve in the state I dis-
covered it I don't believe there could have been 171 b. pres-
sure on the boiler. There might have been 121 b. The valve
was loaded to 161 b.

Examination-in-chief—l was on board the ship when
the explOsion occurred. I knew that experiments were
going on just before the accident. They were to ascertain
what the h'eat might be in the "up-take." That experiment
could in no manner affect the amount of steam generated
in the boiler.

By Capt. Robertson—The original thickness of Jhe
boilers was 3-Bths of an inch, and there has been no peV-
ceptible diminution. The leak which I have described to
have been repaired by a patch arose from some defect in
the rivetting or the caulking, and not from any defeat in
the plate of the boiler. The pack was about two feet long
by throe or four inches wide, and one rent goes directly
through it. The patch was secured by 14 nuts, four or fire
inches apart. Ido not think the insertion of these nuts
would have weakened the' boiler. Had it been a strength-
ening patch twice the number of rivets would have been
inserted. The steam had been up to 171 b. during the ex-
periments which have been spoken of, but it had fallen to
121 b. before the explosion.
By the Foreman—l can give no opinion, setting aside
the indicator and the valve and everything else, whether
this boiler really exploded at a pressure of 121 b.
By Captain Robertson—There is only one safety-valve
to each boiler in the Parana. This is the Government
safety-valve, which is always kept under lock and key. The
lock of this valve was opened by Mr. Sumner's instruc-
tions after the accident. We bloke the lock, as the captain
had the key in London. The valve was open by the lever,
and on examining it we could discover nothing to inter-
fere with its free action.
Capt. Ritbertson—But do you
kuowingit as well as you do,
sure of 1616. or 171 b. ?

Lean to say that that boiler,

Witness--I can account for the accident in no other way.

The Foreman—Do you consider the other three boilers to
be safe and in working condition I
Witness—Well, after what has happened, from what I have
seen of the other boilers, I think it might be prudent to put
in a few more stays. (Murmurs among the jury.)
By the Foreman—Bearing in mind the valve being open to
the extent of one-eighth of an inch, to what degree would
that retard the rapid increase of pressure you have spoken of ?
Witness—Not very materially, I believe. I cannot tell
without making a calculation.

➢lr. Alexander Wylie, recalled and examined by the Coro-
ner—My object in keeping the pressure at 121 b. on Wednes-
day afternoon, when the ordinary pressure at sea is 151 b.,
was, that I had no object at the time in having strong steam
—and as the machinery was not in motion I used the safety
valve as a means of taking away the steam which, under ordi-
nary circumstances, would have been consumed by the en-
gines. It is the usual practice when the engines are not under
way to have the safety valves eased. The safety valve was
not eased on Wednesday from any apprehension of danger.
Capt. Robertson—How do you account for the accident—
al! these circumstances taken into consideration ?
Mr. Wylie—l am of opinion that by a different method of
staying in the original construction of the boiler this accident
might have been prevented. lam able to form this opinion
now after the explosion. I never entertained that opinion
previously to the accident.

Capt. Robertson—l can't understand this. You have been
working at sea at 151 b., and snore lately at 171 b,, and now
the boiler explodes at a pressure of 121 b. ?

Mr. Wylie —I can only account for it by this, that a piece
of iron will stand a certain number of years, and at last give
way.

Mr. Sumners was sworn and examined. He said—l am in-
spector of steam machinery at the port of Southampton under
the Board of Trade. lam acquainted with the machinery •f
the Parana. On Sunday morning last I received a letter from
Mr. Mills, requesting me to survey the machinery of the Pa-
rana. I understood the steam was to be got up on Wednes-
day. I went on board the ship at a quarter to 4 o'cloolt on
that day, and found the steam was up. I looked first at two
steam gauges. My attention was first of all called to this one
which I hold in my hand. (The witness produced a steam
gauge.) This was fixed near the foot of the engine room stair-
case, and I observed that it stood at 121 b. to the square inch.
The steam at that time was blowing off freely from the waste
pipe. The donkey-engine was at work keeping the boiler
supplied with water. The men were firing the furnaces readily
and steadily from time to time, but they were firing easily.
I saw the water-gauge, and there were several inches in the
glass, which was about 3-4ths full. I observed at this time a
little steam coming up under the gallery where I was stand-
ing, near to the after end of the gallery, which has been rup-
tured. I looked round about the engines, and made a remark
to Mr. Wylie and Mr. Ritchie that their donkey was a very
noisy one. I remained until 20 minutes past 4 o'clock, and,
after asking several questions of Mr. Wylie, inquired how
song he was going to keep up the steam in that boiler. He
replied until half-past six o'clock, because he was trying
some experiments on the heat of the smoke or gases escaping
by the " uptake" into the chimney. He said, "We have
put into the uptake' one ladle containing a quantity of tin,
another containing a quantity of lead and a pyrometer." I
forgot to observe that when I saw the leakage of steam I
have spoken of I inquired where it came from, and tried to
find it myself, but was unable to do so at the time. As I was
passing up the staircase of the engine-room, on my way out
of the ship, I again took particular notice of the steam gauge,
and it was standing still at a pressure of 121 b. On reaching
the deck, as I was passing the forward hatchway of the stoke-
hole I looked down at the men who wore at work there, and
then I looked up from where I was standing at the waste
steam-pipe, from which the steam was blowing steadily. I
'then left the ship and went home. About 9 o'clock that
evening I received a note from Mr. Mills informing me a
serious accident had occurred, and requesting my attendance
on board the next morning. I went on board in pursuance
of his request, and with Mr. Mills, Mr. Wylie, Mr. Went°,
and Mr. Ritchie, went into the boiler in question. The man
hole had only previously been disturbed. I examined the boiler,
and found the whole of the 16 thwartship stays had separated
from the casing. Fourteen of these stays were secured to
the shell of the boiler by angle-irons, 31 inches by 2k inches
in diameter. Two of them were only 1 inch diameter, and
one of the latter was so defective as to be equal to not more
than Buis of an inch. There was a rent at tke after end of
the boiler about 8 feet long, and one at the forward end 14 feet
long. The "uptake" of the boiler had partially collapsed at
that part to which the stay s had been attached. I saw
over the fractured parts at the after end of the boiler a
plate about three feet long had been put iu and secured
to the boiler by 14 three-quarter inch bolts. At the
time I was in the boiler the water was about two feet
below the top of the flues. I saw no appearance of defect
in any of the flues, and I am certain they had not been
overheated. The boiler was very clean inside. It had been
painted all over the interior of the steam chest, and the paint
was still there. On looking up into the aperture of the
safety-valve inside the boiler I saw it was open: about
one•eighth of an inch, I thin looked into the aperture of