The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-05-13
BLEW UP A PULLMAN
Gas Tank of a Sleeping Car
Explodes in the Penn
sylVania Station.
PLATFORM AND COACHES WRECKED
An Alarm of Fire Fills Exchange
Place With an Excited Crowd
No One Seriously Hurt.

An explosion occurred in the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad trainshed last night at
$40 O'Clock. Several people narrowly
escaped with their lives. A Pullman
palace car was completely demolished,
some ten square feet of the platform was
torn up and glasses wrecked in coaches
for a distance of ninety feet from the
scene of the explosion. The Tampa.
Florida express, made up of three Pull
man sleepers and five day coaches had
just been backed into the shed and werc
being carefully examined by trainmen
before its departure at 9:15 o'clock for
the South. The gas tanks of the Pull
man sleepers are never charged until
the train is nearly ready to pull out.
The car Tagus happened to be next
to the day coaches. and John Bryant.
the colored porter, directed the gas man
to fill the tanks as quickly as possible.
The tanks are situated near the forward
trucks and work en- pivot. The gas
man adjusted the gas hose and a few
moments later was about to remove it
when the tank exploded. The trainshed
was we'll filed with passengers hurrying
to New York and others running for
mingled with the sound of flying and
crashing glass, caused general alarm.
and with one accord passengers and train
attendants made a break for safety.
For fully three minutes the roar of es-
Gaping gas increased the terrors of the
situation Suddenly there was second
explosion, and second later tongues of
flame were seen to- shoot up from among
+I,o T1l,a IN in
courage at this juncture, and an alarm
for fire was sent out, and in a few min
utes the company's apparatus was on
the scene.
FLAME SOON CONTROLLED.
1t was quickly found that the flames
were confined to the sleeping ca Tagus.
The coach was badly demolished, but
in a few seconds it was uncoupled from
the other cars and long before the city
fire engines were able to get a stream
inside the trainshed the coaches adjoin-
ing the wree'sed car had been removed
to a place of safaty, and the Tagus it,
self drawn out in ,a drill yard by one
of the drill engines, Ns'"re the flames
were quickly extinguishco- S.,'ssequent-
ly the wrecked car was reE,~. the
storeyard at the Point of Roc
John Bryant, the porter, was at woi-1
inside the car, directly over the gas
box. when the explosion occurred. He
was thrown with terrible force against
the side of the car. He sustained pain
full bodily injuries and was in dazed
condition when rescued by trainmen He
was carried to the station masters office
and upon recovering sufficiently to talk
said that he thought the world had come
to and end sure. There were in the train
shed at the time of the explosion abous
one hundred coaches, and in at least
thirty of them windows were smashed
into thousands of pieces. WINDOWS in
the station masters office, $50 feet away,
were wrecked. A better idea OF the force
of the shock may be had when it is
known that the three-inch pine planks
in the platform near the car We're thrown
ten feet in the air and reduced to kind
ling wood.
The platform leading to the car was
covered with bits of glass for distance
of thirty feet on either side cf the de-
molished car Tagus. The accident was
due to the gas mans overcharging the
car tank.
NARROW ESCAPE OF PASSENGERS.
Had the explosion occurred twenty min
utes later there would probably have
been a terrible loss of life. Matthew
Teese, the Pullman agent at the depot,
had assigned passengers to nearly every
berth in the coach. Passengers are not
admitted to the train until nine O'Clock.
At ten minutes after nine O'Clock nearly
all trace of the explosion had been re-
moved. new train was made up and
pulled out of the depot only eight min
utes late.
The damage to the car Tagus is esti-
mated at about $4,000 The only part
not damaged beyond repair was the
trucks. Immediately after the explosion
the gas man disappeared. He sustained
painful injuries by being struck with
pieces of wood and flying glass. He was
too badly frightened to remain and give
any account of the mishap. When the
alarm for fire was sent out from the
depot the streets down town quickly
became thronged with people who hur-
ried to the big depot to see what was
going ON. The fire engines of the local
department responded promptly, but long
before their arrival Exchange place was
alive with excited people, many of whom
were afraid to enter the depot because
of the din raised by the escaping gas.
At the request of President Brennan
of the Fire Board. who arrived on the
scene early, fire lines were quickly estab-
lished by the police, and the crowds
were driven back to the sidewalk in or
der not to interfere with the firemen.
1t is estimated that there were fully
five Thousand people attracted to Ex-
change place by the occurrence. At ten
O clock the curiosity seekers dispersed,
and Exchange place quickly assumed its
Sunday air of propriety.
Taken BY Surprise.
Clergyman Showing a lady visitor
have seen the organ, the font and the
4 rra. I should like to conduct won To