The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-07
TWO CABLE CARS RUN WILD.
LIVELY SCENES AT DIFFERENT POINTS
IN UPPER BROlDWhE

Cars Become Unr,nrngeabie st Madison and
Unton Squares sinuitaueo uriy. and Exc
,citeseut Prevails Until che Gable IL
stoppcd-Trnnac Interrupted Two Hours
The Broadway cable cars were stopped for
two hours In the busiest part OF the afternoon
yesterday on account OF a broken strand In the
cable which runs from the Houston street
power house to Thirty-sixth street and back
Six hundred feet Of the wire got tangled up In
the grip OF car II and caused runaway.
which was fortunately stopped before any
wagons had been upset or any pedestrians run
over.
Tho car In charge OF conductor % passed
Seventeenth street on its way down town
shortly before 4 o'clock. Two women left the
car at this crossing. and the grlpman started
on to round tho Union square curve Just as
tho car began to move he felt that something
was wrong and tried to slow up. but the appa-
ratus controlling the grip would not work. and
the gripman became convinced that he was in
for trouble. He began pounding the gong
with his foot while he yelled to the trucks in
front Of him to get out Of the way Two men
saw that tho car was beyond control and
jumped just before the curve at Fifteenth
street The car whirled around there at full
speed and headed for Fourteenth street like
bull for a red flag.
Policeman Pratt OF the Broadway squad
realized that something was the matter. and
cleared tho crossing. He stood there and n 8
No. II went by he jumped on the back plat
form and entered the car. where sixteen
passengers were standing up with pale faces.
Two Of these we're women with babes s in their
told them frankly that the. car was beyond
control: but that 1t was far better to SIT still
thS ns s" pals nn t.
SQUARE had been telephoninR to tho power
No. il rushed down Broadway with crowd
behind and a few Heet.footed men In front
These kept the track 80 clenr that only one
latter gained on the car ahead the passeneer6
10 this became frightened. and at wayerhie ley
place ono woman jumped She fell on ner
name, When No. Il reached Fourth street.
crowd gathered around the car. and the con
% H R n9S
power house and Chief Engineer MeNulty
drove down from the ap,t2GTh poTer house. ss;
was at u standstill, An examination showed
that u, strand had got tangled in IFS grip:
this Off and the car was then dragged down to
Houston street The, distance to the break
at d Here ths
main splicing Of the cable is made.
the break. and. therefore. 1t was decided to
rig up the reserve cable. Whom this had been
done. the machinery was started again. anG
at o'clock the road was In working order.
The officials OF the mpany were very reti.
cent about the accident and tried to keep all
information from the public. Both the con-
ductor and the gtipman Of the runaway car
refused to give their names They complained
that the accident could not have happened Il
their telegraph system had been work ing. But
tho Empire City subway Company got out an
injunction against this several weeks ago. and
1t ls now useless to the cable company.
Another accident happened at the corner OF
REIMBURSEMENT street and Broadway n few
minutes previous to the Fourteenth street
mishap. At 40 o'clock the gripman on car
81 tried to stop at Twenty ninth street to take
on a pa ssenger. The brakes would not work
and he couldn't throw, out the cable. furni.
ture wagon In front didn't get out OF the way
in time. AS the car went lying past the wagon
scraped along the side. knocking out tho win
dows and breaking several stanchions.
The horses attached to the wagon became
frightened aud nearly ran away. The car was
half filed with men and women. The men
in their fright elbowed the women aside and
rushed out. Tho conductor helped the women
Off while the car was rushing along. and. al
though several Of them fell none were injured:
Broome street horse car was run into at
Twenty-fifth street, and was pushed ahead Of
was stopped at the power house.