New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-10
A LOCOMOTIVE EXPLODES.
THREE MEN HURLED HUNDREDS OF FEET
AND INSTANTLY KILLED.
AN UNEXPLAINED ACCIDENT ON THE LONG rs
LAND RAILROAD At OYSTER BAY-EsCAPE
OF ALL THE PASSENGERS.

killing three men and throwing the village into a
state of excitement Train No. 6, which is sched-
uled to leave Oyster Bay for this city at 0S
a. M, had just been made up and was standing
in front of the station platform, the engine being
about fifty feet west Of the building. The train
was headed by Engine No. 113. manned by James
Donaldson, engineer, and Townsend Dixon fire
man, both of Oyster Bay, and in charge of Con
ductor Alfred Jones, of Locust Valley The first
car Of the train the combined smoking and
baggage car, No 125, followed by three passenger
coaches.
Suddenly, without any warming loud report
was heard, the earth was shaken, and smoke and
steam covered the space around the locomotive.
When the steam spectacle of destruction pre-
sented itsf which sent shudder through the wit
resses. The men who were just arriving for their
days work in the Long Island Railroad machine
shops came running from the yards, while the few
passengers on the platform stood dumfounded.
/ The big engine stood on its end, the ccwcatcher
deeply imbedded in the track between the sleep
ers the funnel pointing straight ahead between the
rails, with the driving high up in the air.
The frebox and cab were gone but the tender
was not much damaged and in the first car of the
train only the front windows were broken
! An instant before the explosion the engineer
! had been leaning out OF the window of his cab
! talking TO the conductor, who stood on the plat
form The fireman had been shovellng coal into
the firebox A brakeman had been standing on
/ the front platform of his car. None of them
was seen after the explosion. When the work
! men from the yards ventured near they found
| first a bleeding, inanimate mass on the left of
the track. 1t was Townsend Dixon, dead, with
one arm and one leg broken, the chest crushed
/ in and large cash behind the left ear, where
! the skull was crushed in.
| The men who came from the freight depot about
! sixty yards from the passenger platform, when
passing around the rear car Of the train came
upon the dead body Of Mahoney, a brakeman.
/ He had been hurled into the air and thrown over
the length of three cars by the terrific force of
the explosion. His body was terribly mangled
and not a shred Of his uniform was left on his
| body. Finally the body Of the engineer was
found in a cluster Of trees about 200 feet north
! from the tracks Both legs were broken and
| twisted; the left eye, running toward the
crown OF the head, a triangular wound about
four inches long, Across the face from to
ear the skull was cracked, and both eyes and the
nose were gone. Death was instantaneous in all
! three cases.
Alfred Jones, the conductor had already been
picked up His escape was marvellous. The
debris of the wrecked engine must have been
!
been badly scalded. Townsend d. Cox took him
in his private carriage to the conductors home in
Locust Valley. In the afternoon he was resting
easily and improving.
! The bodies Of the three killed were taken to
| the baggage-room in the station Coroner Cooley
Of Glen Cove was summoned. and arrived at the
scene of the disaster at about II a. m. He i'm
| panelled jury whose members viewed the bodies,
and then the coroner gave permits for the re-
moval of the bodies. At noon the body of
! MahOney the brakeman, was taken to his home
| in Roslyn, where his aged parents and yonng
sisters awaited the body Of their supporter.
DXons body was taken to his home in Oyster
Bay at O'Clock in the afternoon. Donaldsons
| body lay during the afternoon in the baggage
room, and it was taken at night to Babylon.
! Donaldson left a wife and two children, five
and three years of age. DiXons wife died some
time ago. He leaves several young children.
The station was quickly surrounded by a surg
ing crowd. The firebox and cab were blown
distance of about 12O feet from the engine 10
the south side of the road, where they imbedded
themselves in the ground The freboA and cab,
! together with other pieces of the engine which
were thrown that far weigh several tons. The
mantle of the boiler wac blown entirely out or
shape the thick iron plates looking like so many
pieces of crumpled paper the heavy crowbars
upon which the engine rests and which are four
inches square were broken like pipestems The
piston-rods two inches in diameter, were
broken The heaviest and strongest pieces
were bent and broken out of all shape.
At about 10 q. m wrecldng train arrived
from Long Island City and began TO remove the
wreck. Ropes and chains were fastened to the
engine and with the help Of powerful derricks
and blocks the standing engine was thrown over
- 4. - .f~
were set TO work at once putting down new rails
in place Of the bent and twisted ones, and then
the dismantling and dismountlng Of the engine
began Small pieces OF wreck0ge were fonnd all
around the station, and it is strange that no
more people hurt If the explosion had oc-
CURED A. a later hour the loss of life would have
been much greater.
No satisfactory cause can be assigned for the
eXplosion and it may never he known. as the only
men who could say anything authentic about 1t
were killed. Superintendent Barton and Master
Mechanic Thompson. who were on the ground all
day, made careful examination. II IS denied Dy
these officials that the engine Just came from the
repair shops or was TO be sent there on account
of leak in the boiler had been said. The
probabilities are that the water ran low in the
boiler, but the engineer, Donaldson was an eN-
perienced and Trustworthy man. and Dixon tS3 loo.
knew his duty well. II seems lncomprehenslPe
how the water could have been allowed 10 run low
with two good men in the cab
The widest rumOB gained ground in the eX-
cited crowd. The source OF the rumors could not
he traced hut some Of the curions crowd dld
not hesitate 10 hint at the possibility of foul
play They say that the Long Island Road as a
corporation has enemies in Oyster Bay, and some
people are said TO have uttered such vague
threats as We will get even some time The
rumor goes on To say that giant powder may pos
sibly have been thrown in with the coal, and
when the fireman was shOvelIing coal into the fire
box the powder caused the explosion. Cooler
heads however do not give the slightest credence
10 these rumors, and officially no notice was
taken OF them.
The inquest in the case will be held on Monday
morning nj 10 80 o'clock in the Town Hall at
Oyster Bay The excitement in Oyster Bay was
kent at fever degree all day. and till dusk peo-
pie were coming and going, looking at the wreck
MORE TROUBLE IN TENNESSEE FEARED
Knoxville Tenn, Sept. 0 (Special)-There is more
tronlln hre,rinc the Rricevle coal mlreS. Il. A.