The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-06-18
ENGINEER COOKS DEATH.
speculstions rs tn the Cause of the Acct
d-nt-Manager baldwin,. Opinion.
Ry the St.ndard,s Sparial Wire

speculstions ms Ia the Cause of the Acct
dent-Manager Baldwin, Opinion.
BY the Standards Special Wire.
BUTTE, June 17.-An inquest was held
to-day on the body OF W. e.. Cook, the
Montana MO engineer accidentally
killed near Silver Bow junction yester.
day. The jury returned a verdict that the
accident was unavoidable and %exonerated
the company from all blame. The funeral
of Cook will he held tomorrow afternoon
Mt = o'clock. under the direction OF the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
In speaking OF the accident to a STAND
r reporter to-day, General Manager
Baldwin said the real cause of il would
probably be forever enshrouded i'm
mystery. Mr.. Baldwin made a personal
inspection of the wrecked engine and
found that Immediately preceding the ac-
cident IL was i'm first-class condition, in
fact II was the very best locomotive owned
by the company. What caused the rod TO
break Is not known. for il was as fault
less o piece of steel as was ever turned
out of a shop. Not n flaw or check could
be found In IL at any point. At the place
where the break occurred il seemed To be
particularly strong as examination will
show. Instead OF breaking of squarely
he rod vas twisted almost half way
around, then split and finally broken in
two. The fibre Of the steel was perfect,
not a sign of specialization being dis
cernable. An excellent idea OF the break
can be obtained by taking a thin piece of
tough wood and twisting il with the hands
until il is broken. The pieces will be al
most fac SMILES of the broken rod.
A number Of theories nave been adj
vanced as to the probable cause of the
accident, but of these that entertained by
Mr.. Baldwin is probably nearer correct
b any. At the time of the accident
h rails were wet from rain, causing the
drivers to slip. According TO Mr.. Bald
wins idea, a quantity of sand became dis
lodged from one of the banks and fell on
The right hand rail. In turning the curve
the drivers on that side clutched the rails
harder han on the other side, causing a
sudden jerk which broke the rod. The
strain thus suddenly placed on the rod of
the left side proved too great, n ID
also broke. The engine was built espec-
Ially with "A view of obtaining the highest
possible speed and had often run Go miles
an hour with perfect safety. At the time
of the accident the train was running
about forty miles an hour. which was only
a fair rate of speed for the engine, and as
MIR. Baldwin puts IL, about a trot for the
locomotive.
Although such accidents are of unusual
occurrence, Mr.. Baldwin, with that regard
Tor the safety and protection of his en-
ployes which characterizes him. has de-
cided to follow h example of the Penn
sylvania com PAM and ordered double
steel plates to be attached underneath the
floor of every engine cab on the road.
While not an absolute protection to the
firemen and engineers, il will lessen To a
considerable degree the danger they are
constantly in from broken side rods, as
the plates will tend To lessen the force of
the rapidly revolving pieces should a rod
break