The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-09-30
DROPPED into 4 SEWER.
The Big Steam Roller Crushes
Through the Bed Of State
Street.
Engineer Tom Palmer Was on 1t,
but He Didn't Get
Hurt.
w-------8
The Last Chance Flume IL Now Choked
Up by 10000 Pounds OF Iron
Machinery.

The bed of State street, between Main
and Clore, has just been treated TO a top
dressing OF rock and dirt. In ordet TO get
IL hardened and smoothed of the big steam
roller that was used on the Main street
pavement was engaged to run mp and down
on the new surface. 1t went up and down
a number Of times yesterday afternoon,
and the street was beginning to assume the
appearance of AN asphalt walk in smooth
ness, whom all of a sudden operations had
to be suspended. The big roller had
plunged heavy end first, through several
feet of street surface. and four inches OF
plank into the old Last Chance fume.
There II will stay until it is "iartsd' mp
and drawn out, which will be a question OF
considerable time, labor and expense.
Last Chance fiume makes a out across
State street from the southwest corner OF
Main to the alloy way between the lots on
Main street and those on Clore street. The
fume has stone sides at this point, but the
top ia a four inch plank. The plank top
was put on eight years ago and has never
been renewed. In consequence it was very
much rotted. This fact was lost sight of
when the ateam roller was put on to pack
sho h0w ukiuO aOWh. ~ uVuNy noAf
which weighs 26, 900 pounds, had made the
trip from Main street to Clore several
times, passing over the old fume on each
occasion without any sign of impending
danger except a slight yielding. which
might have been either the board covering
Or tho new dirt and rock. In coming down
toward Main street FOR the last time. En-
gineer Tom Palmer, who was the only one
OH the roller. heard an ominous
cracking. 1t came just as the big machines
two heavy wheels reached the locality of
the fiume. Before he had time to jump or
even to think the end nenrest Main street,
on which he was standing, went down with
a crash, and the big driving wheels were
nearly out Of sight. and resting on a broken
mass of timberB and several tons OF earth.
Palmer was somewhat shaken mp, but not
hurt. He gained the surface of the street
at once, and having ascertained that the
big machine was not liable to 90 in any
deeper he promptly drew the fire flom the
boiler, let off the steam and cooled the
machine down to prevent an explosion.
The manner in which the big wheels
caught in the broken timbers and the walls
OF the fnme prevented what might have
been a very serious accident to the
chine stationary after the drop and
prevented it sliding. Otherwise
Palmer would have been caught between
the boiler of the roller and the side Of the
cave and cruahed, as there was nothing to
stop it but a light iron bar used to support
the cover which protects the engineer from
the weather.
As matters stand the city has a hole about
ten feet in diameter and six feet deep in
the bed of State street near Main. and the
iume il choked up at that point. In the
hole is the heaviest end of a $4,000 pound
steam roller. 1t is proposed to get it out by
means of jackscrews, as there il no der lex
in town strong enough to lift it.
Whom the obstruction is removed it ia
likely the tlume will either be arched with
brick or a double planking put on top.