The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-09
THE AURANIA's MIsHAP.
Breaking a Solid Steel Crank Shaft and
What Followed.
New York Herald

New York Herald.
1t was while the passengers were
thus engaged that the crank shaft attached
to the middle piston, an enormous bar OF
solid steel ten inches in diameter, suddenl Y
snapped in twain. The suddenly liberated
piston rod shot up through the top of the
combining cylinder tearing the thick steel
plates all to pieces, and with one tremendous
burst and a report like that of heavy pieces
of ordnance vast volume ofsteam carrying
with it fragments of iron, burst through the
skylight and escaped heayenward. The
havoc wrought in the engine-room
was terrible. Nota cylinder escaped lacera-
ton. Iron braces were bent and torn,
heavy beams were perforated, glass an inch
thick from the skylight was blown into the
air and rained down upon the deck in dan
gerous shower. A passenger was sitting near
the stern-and was slightly cut by the falling
glass. A lady paSSenger-MrS. Il. w. Sturde-
vant-was standing near the skyliSht. She
was Knocked down by the force of the explo-
sion and her wrist was badly sprained. For
moment or two the re was almost panic
on board, those on deck being frightened by
the noise of the explosion the rush of escap-
Ing Sltdul anu Tue SOuttu Ol Soulc ltIEiDit
pounding which was going on in the lowest
depths of the engineroom. They retreated
In some disorder toward the bows. Other
passengers, who were below, rushed on deck
to see what the matter was.
But it was not on deck nor yet in the upper
part OF the engine-room that the real point OF
danger lay. Down three greasy pairs OF lad
ders, in the depths OF the ships hull far be-
low the cylinders, in the dark hole where
stokers grow faint from excessive heat and
where the grimy engineer on duty holds MS
post of responsibility, there was enacted a
scene which rarely has an equal. The lower
| portion OF the broken crank shaft-a mass of
steel weighing many tons-was, OF course,
| fastened to the main shaft of the ship, and as
this continued to reyolve from the working
OF the other pistous an immense arm of steel
went flying about like a huge fail. The
effect was awful. Iron and steel were
knocked to splinters. A support
| ing column of wrought iron foot i'll
thickness was broken in two, and one piece
weighing a ton was bitten out, so to speak,
| Wherever the fail struck destruction fol-
lowed. The air, already choked with scald-
ing steam, was filled with sparks of fire
caused by the blows of steel on steel and
| iron. The place was internal. Nothing but
prompt action could save the sheathing of
the vessel from beirg pounded through. The
| engine must be stopped. And yet the little
steel brake which controlled the whole tre-
mendous mechanism was situated only about
two feet from the arm of the thrasher and
right in the midst of the scalding steam and
the blstering sparks.
| Andrew Lambert, the second engineer,
promoted from the Bothnia, was on duty IN
! the -engIne-room. He is a tall, brawny
! Seotchman of some three or four-and-thrty.
| When the crank shaft broke and the engine
room was turned into pandemonium Mr..
| Lambert was standing in one of the stoke
rooms, some twenty or thirty feet from the
brake. He saw and felt the dense mass of
steam, and noted the lightning of the flying
sparks He knew the engine must be stopped.
To see the controlling brake was an impossi-
3bility, but he knew that instinct would take
him 10 it, and dropping on his hands and
knees, he crawled up to it and turned off the
steam. The shaft had made twenty revolu-
tions before he was able to get the engine
under control. lie was badly scalded about
| the face and hands, but otherwise uniniured;
| but he had risked his life to save the ship.
One of the officers of the Aurania said yes
terday that the damage done to the machin-
cry alone would amount to at least 100000,
and it might be. more. The machinery, he
| said was perfect wreck, and the reason
| why people were not allowed to visit the
steamer was because the company objected
to exhibiting the junk shop into which the
engine-room of the vessel had been convert
ed. The steam at the time of the accident,
he said happened, fortunately, to be in the
thevessel was above Had the steam been
| i'm the bottom no Aurania would have been
! left to be repaired