The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-09-18 00:00:00

FATAL STEAM-BOILER EXPLOSION.

NEWTON-IN-THE-WILLOWS, MONDAY NIGHT.
The Viaduct Foundry on the Manchester and Liverpool
line of Railway at this place, the property of Messrs. Jones,
Turner, and Evans. was this morning the scene of a dreadful
and fatal steam-boiler explosion. Six persons are already
dead, and four others are lying without the least hope of re-
covery. It appears that Messrs. Jones and Co. employ
about two hundred men, and in the course of their business
use two steam-engines, one of sixteen horse-power to drive
the machinery, and one of eight to blow the blaSt for the
smiths' furnaces. Last week a new boiler was attached to
the eight-horse engine, and the foreman of the yard, Joseph
Dangerfield, who superintended the erection of the boiler,
resolved upon setting it in motion himself. It was tried on
Saturday last, and was then found to work well. This morn-
ing he was called by the watchman at five o'clock, and he
immediately proceeded to light the fire and get the steam up
in the boiler. He accomplished the task by six o'clock.
At that hour the men came to work, and about ten or a dozen
of them stood at the mouth of the furnace, anxiously waiting
to witness the evolutions of the engine which had been stop-
ped for the purpose of attaching the strap communicating
with the machinery of the foundry. This had been in part
accomplished, when all of a sudden the steam and water
burst through the flue of the boiler, and carried the contents
of the furnace and part of its brick work full forty yards
from the building. The explosion was terrific. The bye-
slanders and Dangerfield was carried as if by a gun shot,
into a corn field on the opposite side of the foundry palings.
The palings were knocked down, and the corn levelled to the
ground for full twenty yards distance. 'Three of the men
were picked up quite dead. Their names are Joseph Dan-
gerfield, (the foreman,) Samuel Appleton, (striker,) and
George Fazakerley. John Dean, a striker, was found on his
knees fervently praying to the Lord to have mercy on his
soul. He lived until ten o'clock this morning. 'Thomas
Price, another striker, was pit ked up insensible. John
Parker was dreadfully mutilated. Win. Wells, a moulder,
Geo. Hough, a striker, 'Wm. Dane, and Wilson, a fitter,
were taken up dreadfully scalded and bruised. They were
quickly attended by Mr.-Barrow, and Dr. Green of Newton,
and Mr. Gaskell of St. Helen's. (ieorge Hough and Win.
Wells lived for a few hours. 'Only one of the other sufferers
is expected to survive.
The foreman, Joseph Dangerfield, has left a wife and
seven children; Williem Wells, a wife (pregnant) and one
child; Samuel Appleton, a wife and nine children, (his wife
is pregnant and a cripple;) John Parker has a wife and
several children; Wilson is also married, and came to work
at the foundry this morning, from Stockport. The others
• are single men.
The Rev. John Thomas, curate of Burton Wood, arrived
at the foundry soon after the accident, and was present with
some of the sufferers in their last moments.

The engine boiler is'coustructed on the high pressure prin-
ciple, and works at a pressure varying from fifty to sixty
pounds to the square inch. At the time of the accident,
(according to the index) it was working at thirty-two pounds.
The exterior of the boiler remains perfectly sound, the injury
done being confined to the flue.
Prior to leaving Newton, our reporter was informel that
Price had breathed his last at a few minutes after one o'clock.