Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1873-04-19


BORDEN SHAFT, APRIL II, 1873
EDITOR JOURNAL We had just sue
cccdcd in getting our machinery in good
working order after having been wrecked
By an accident never to be forgotten by the
people of this place, viz: the falling of
cage, horse and man down the Shaft--when,
on last Sunday morning, about 4, so o'clock,
we were again stricken by the discovery of
the Shaft building on fire.
The height of the building was II feet 7
inches. Il structure of heavy pine timber
standing directly over the Shaft. The south
end Of the building or boIer-room, was
about % feet high, built chiefly of brick
The fire was first discovered about Is feet
above the base on the north end of the build
ing-that part where it was least expected;
the furnaces being on the other end, or sew
cral feet from the place where the fire first
presented itself, and there being no stove or
other heating apparatus than the furnaces
in the building at the time, it would be diff
cult to account for the misfortune as
an accident.
The fire assembled very rapidly; the en-
tire building soon became enveloped in
flames: the Notwithstanding disappeared !;
then the skeleton, or heavy frame present
ed Itself, apparently knitted together by
heavy web of transparent flame. This
with the darkness of the morning as the
BACKGROUND, made u scene at once sad and
grand
The heaviest part of the machinery-a
large flv-whecl, Is feet in diameter; two
large drum wheels each IL feet in dame
ter; heavy pinion- wheel, 3 feet in dame
ter, together with heavy shafts supporting
these whecls-was on the top of the build
ing. The falling of this heavy mass was
observed with great interest Rapidly the
huge proportions of the heavy timbers dis
appeared first the belts became detached
from the drums and they, with the cage,
went to the bottom. At ten minutes to 6
o'clock the frame gave away and, with
tremendous crash, followed by the ascension
of heavy volume of red flame, the building
was no more. The hosting engine, cylin-
der Is inches in diameter and feet long,
one of the large drum wheels, the pinion-
wheel, part of the tiy-wheel, indeed, about
half of all the machinery found its way to
the bottom of the Shaft, 15l feet, 6 inches
The sllmp is 10 feet below the track on the
bottom, thus making the entire distance
from the landing to the bottom of the stump
16l! feet.
The lining in the Shaft was greatly burn
ed and torn to pieces; in other respects the
Shaft sustained no material injury, The
boilers, five in number, have not been
thoroughly examined as yet, but from out
ward appearances they seem none the
worse. The pumping engine cylinder, Is
inches in diameter and feet long, together
with much Of the machinery attached, cs-
capped going down the Shaft. \ small
pumping engine used for pumping water in
the boilers, or throwing water over the
building in case OF fire escaped without
much injury. The weigh scales were dcs-
troycl; one Baltilnoic hopper; four Bah
cock Fire EXtin@uishcrs in fact, nothing
ofmuch valuc was Saved. The laIsc smoke
stack, s. feet high, still remains.
Fortunately the wind Blew towards The
cast, otherwise the carpenter and black
smith shops and several dwelling houses
might have been burned, as the wind car
ried the fire and shingles abo0t u quarter
OF mile in the direction in which it blew.
Arrangements are making to rebuild as
fast as possible. 1t is Il characteristic OF
/ the Borden Company 10 keep in the path
oftruc American enterprise, as the past will
show the company ncyo" becomes discour-
aged by q fall NJ, G. r.
.scri'lzsy-sse1st be DE
criyesi .-'Fhe eyes of the world open
/ 0vn,, ~ coo mora simeon Spwinr Machines