Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-18
BOILER EXPLOSION,
Engineer LOughrey is In
stantly Killed.
A Water Tank Hurled Through
the Air.
Nothing Left of che Engine But Three
BOiler-Tubes.
An Accident that Happened Yesterday
Morning Near Burbank and In
jured Several People.

Shortly after 7o'clock yesterday morn
ing boiler explosion occurred on the
Kester ranch of l. n. Van Nuys, a few
miles northwest of Burbank, resulting in
the instantaneous death of the engineer
and the serious injury of several of the
employees at the ranch.
For some days past large force of
men has been employed on the ranch for
the harvesting of the barley crop, and a
threshing machine and portable COM
bination engine and boiler were hired for
the occasion from the Los Angeles Farm
ing and Milling Company. After a large
quantity of grain had been threshed, the
superintendent of the ranch, Thomas
Henry, made arrangements to grind the
barley at the ranch mill, which was to
be driven by the portable en-
gine. This work was to have
commenced yesterday morning, and in
structions were given to the engineer to
get up steam at 8 o'clock. The fireman.
Ivan Wardrobes, fired up" the engine,
and at O'Clock the guage indicating
that he had pressure of sixty pounds
of steam he asked the superintendent
what pressure was needed. He was in
formed that one hundred pounds would
be sufficient, and after adding more fuel
and increasing the draught through the
tire-boX, be proceeded to oil the various
parts of the machinery. The belt was
placed on the driving and pulleywheels,
and everything was in readiness for the
commencement of the work, when sud-
denly the fireman noticed that steam
was leaking from the hand-hoe of the
plate OF the boiler, and he shouted "The
gasket has blown out" Engineer Joseph
Loughrey who was on the running-board
OF the engine, took monkey-wrench
and proceeded to tighten up the nuts on
the bolts round the leak, when a terrific
explosion occurred About twenty
men were standing within radius of
fifty feet from the engine at the time,
waiting for the order to commence work,
and all were thrown down by the force
OF the explosion. On recovering from
the shock, all that could be seen was a
dense cloud of steam where the engine
had stood, and when this had blown
away three boiler tubes were all that
had been left on the original spot where
the engine had been but few moments
before, while the debris of the wreck
was scattered in every direction. A
huge water tank, containing 5000 GAL
Ions of water, which had supplied the
boiler with water, had been lifted bodily
and hurled forty feet from its original
position alongside the engine. D.
One of the first to recover from the
shock was a ranch hand named Mike
Healey. He at once looked round to see
if any one was hurt, and found Engineer
Loughrey lying upon the ground, face
downward, near him, bleeding profusely
from horrible cut in his right side,
the abdominal wall having been pene-
trated. The unfortunate man, who had
been hurled at least forty-five feet by
the explosion, was horribly bruised and
mangled, and though still breathing
when Healey found him, expired few
minutes later. A surgeon was sum-
moned from Burbank as speedily as
possible and the injuries of those who
had been struck by the flying pieces of
boiler-plate attended to, fortunately
none of them being of very serious
nature. Justice R. A. Marshall notified
Coroner Meredith of the accident, and,
acting under his instructions, proceeded
to the scene of the explosion as soon
after the occurrence as possible, and
held an inquest upon the body of En-
gineer Loughrey, at which the jury re-
turned a verdict in accordance with the
facts. The body of the unfortunate
man, who was only 25 years of age, was
then brought to this city, and his
parents, who reside at Gardenia, were
notified of his death.
From the testimony of the fireman,
Ivan Wardrobes, as given to the
coroner's jury, it was learned that he
knew nothing whatever about the con-
dition of the engine prior to the acci-
dent, and admitted that he was not COM
petent to express an opinion on the sub
ject, claiming in defense of his ignorance
that he ''was not an engineer"
Whether young Loughrey was a COM
petent engineer or not could not be as
certained, as no one apparently knew
much of him. The question as to whom
the culpability belongs will therefore in
all probability never be cleared up, as
the component paIts of the engine are
so completely shattered as to prohibit
an investigation into their condition.
SPEAKERS AND OFFICERS.