Morning journal and courier., 1893-09-08
LOOKING FOR THE CAUSE.

Railroad Commissioners of Massa-
 chusetss Hold An InvestigatIen m Into
 the Accident aI Chester Last Week
 in Which Nearly a Score of Persons
 Lost Their Lfves-Railroad Em-
 ployes on the Stand.
 BOSTON, Sept. 7.-The railroad commis- sioners to-day began an investigation into the cause of the accident on the Boston and Albany railroad at Chester last Thurs day when bridge gave away beneath the weight of an express train called the Chicago Special, caueing the loss of seven teen lives and injuries to 8 number of passengers and trainmen. President Bliss, General Superintendent Bsrnie and Coun- sel Samuel Hoar were present on behalf of the road. A long list of witnesses was sworn.
 Conductor Guy W. Gray was the first to testify. He described the makeup of the train and said that it was six minutes late at Chester and was making up the time when 1t reached the bridge; he knew the bridge was under repairs by seeing work men there; had no orders in regard to 1t, did not slscken speed there as he had no reason to suppose that the bridge was weakened; he made an examination after the accident and could find no signs of de- railment; the first span of the bridge was under the wreck; could see no marks on the next span.
 train, testified: Was filling the oiler when the train reached the bridge; when the en- zine got on the bridge 1t (the engine) went up and down endwise like "tseter" board. Then witness felt a shock, the en- zine sprang forward and turned on its side when 1t got across; the train was not running over twenty miles an hour.
 William Wilcox, engineer, who runs between Chester and Washington, Mass, testified that he went over the bridge with an engine and two cara of bridge iron about 10:30 and recrossed at 11:15 on the day of the accident. He thought the men were drilling holes on the west span in the floor beams; did not notice whether any parts of the bridge were unriveted or misplaced; noticed nothing out of order on the track or bridge, and noticed no workmen on the trusses.
 Engineer Stephen A. Cornell testified: Took the local passenger train from Springfield to Plttsheld on the day of the accident and crossed the bridge at 1920 at 8 speed of from twenty-five to thirty miles an hour.
 Master Carpenter Frank K. Cady testi- fled to laying the floor on the bridge and said that his inspector, Patrick Hsrring- ton, practical bridge mechanic, inspect ed the bridge once or twice every month the strengthening of the trusses had been going on three weeks prior to the date of | the accident; the bridge had not shown signs of weakness.
 Bridge Builder J. Dana Reed, testified to experimenting the work on three bridges at Chester last week. He was not at the fatal bridge on the morning of the scci- dent, but was there the day before. Work was then going on on the top chord of the eastern end of the bridge. The men were getting ready to put on plates. On the north side he saw four men rivetlng plates were cutting the rivets to take of the lat tioe work and man was drilling new holes for rivets. There were ten or twelve empty rivet holes In the hip pocket, there
 were also empty rivet holes at the splice ot the chord; there might have been othel
 pisces on the north corners where the riv cts were out, but witness wasn't definite s'
 to that. If these rivet holes found empty
 after the wreck were empty at the time tn,
 bridge fell the work was not done ss he hat
 directed; and the strength of the bridge
 was diminished; 1t was a safe thing to leav
 those rivet holes empty.
 As to his theory of the cause of the acci
 dent, witness had no opinion to give; tn
 only evidence of derailment was at a poin
 thirty to thirty five feet from the east en'
 of the bridge; there was no other fact eI
 cept the emptiness of those 200 rivet hole
 that the witness knew of to account fo
 the collapse of the bridge; the bridge wa
 literally braced and some of these brace
 were detached in the wreck from the to
 of the chord; If the rivets were out of tn
 lateral braces there would bs @ sway to th } bridge.
 At the afternoon session General Fore man Reeds testimony was continued. H eaw no plate, part of the original bridg'
 lying on the ground, that had holes in i , but unwillingly admitted that if thel were holes in the parts of the originl : bridge after the wreck his men must hay l taken out the rivets from them. He kne
 Belleville to be competent and oapab
 man of fifteen years experience. He hs
 never given his foreman 6 time table. , Daniel Belleville, the foreman directly = charge of the work on the bridge, testihs
 that he left everything on the bridge whe 6 his men went to dinner. He described tl z method of removing @ plate. It was b
 custom to out of rivets, then put in Il @ bolts in every third or fourth hole ar
 drive steel pins into the rivet holes.
 Reed never told him to put bolts into eve
 hole. Be said there were two working s the east span and there had been BOT if rivets removed on one of the trusseR '. that span. Adjourned until Friday nor ' ing.