New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-06


KEN IN DARKNESS AND ELECTRIC CARS
AT A sTANDsTILL.
A terrible accident occurred in the plant of
the Hudson Electric Light Company, Fifteenth
and Bloomfield SITS. Hoboken, at 1888 yesterday
morning, when the nywheel OF a 800 horse
power Corliss engine burst The building was
practically wrecked. the damage amounting to
about s25,OO0. The night engineer. Carl Ander-
son, of No. 1.l27 Park-ave., Hoboken. was IN
stantly killed, and three other employees were
injured. These were william Cogswen. electri-
clan. of No 1.OiO Willow-ave.. Hoboken, abra-
sion on the left arm; Henry Layman oiler, OF
No 10 Park-ave., Hoboken. sprained ankle;
Martin Klein, OF No. Ill Clinton-st. Hoboken,
injured internally, but not seriously
The plant in which the accident occurred is
two-story brick building. 1t contains all the
engines and dynamos which supply the power
for ali the electric running from Hoboken
TO North Hudson County, and all the electric
light for that oi.y. 1t was built and equipped
several years ago at a cost of .OOO The night
force consisted Of eight men. All were on duty
in the engine and dynamo rooms when the acci-
dent occurred. The fiywheel which burst was
attached to an engine which stood In the north
west corner Of the building. 1t was eighteen
feet In diameter. weighed $4,000 pounds, ana
was turning at the rate OF 225 revolutions
minute when the break occurred. The spokes
broke in all directions and were projected
through the roof and sides OF the building with
tremendous force. Anderson. who was standing
on a platform above the hywheel, was struck
by "A piece of the broken machinery, and was
thrown high in the air. When his body was
found it resting across an iron Slrder at the
top of the building. seventy feet from the en-
CINE floor. 1t was horribly mangled. The BODY
was removed to Coroner Volk's morgue. Hobo
ken. The latter empanelled jury yesterday
afternoon which viewed the body and visited
the scene of the accident No date has yet Deen
set for the inquest.
When the fywhee burst and the engine was
wrecked the large steampipe connected with the
boilers was disconnected and the place was soon
filled with escaping steam. All the machinery
was rendered useless, the entire city or HOBO
ken in darkness and all the cars OH the
several lines brought TO standstill
The pieces of the broken hywEeel crashed
through the dynamo room. wrecking the Valu-
able machinery there. one OF the pieces .oie
through the front of the building ard landed In
the middle Of Fourteenth-st block away. IL
weighed fully two tons and a half. ana hau IL
not struck an iron girder on It's way through
the dynamo-roo ii would probably have STRUCK
and wrecked several flats in Fourteenth-st Otner
pieces went through the office, making large
gap in the wall. Three pieces went through the
roof, and the wall cOnn"cunR lHe io'Hi
with the boer-room was wrecked in TWO places
The engine-room floor torn up, steel ana
wooden girders being twisted and broken ike
oipestems. ,
As the flying sections Of the wheel made their
way through the building. the employees were
panic-strickcn. Cogswell working In the
dynamo-roOm on the second floor Of the building
and becoming frightened. eaped from one OF
the windows. a distance Of fully thirty feet HIS
arm was badly injured. Klein, who was on the
engine-room floor struck by a piece or ny
ing metal. Layman, another oiler, jumped down
the coal chute and sprained his ankle. whlle
william Picrson, an engineer who was WORKING
about fifteen feet from the wrecked engine, es-
capped without a scratch.
The noise OF the bursting of the f1yWheel soon
drew a large crowd despite the early hour Inc
police of the Second Precinct were quickly on
hand and kept the throng back. The police re-
mained on duty all day. large crowd collected
i'm the neighborhood of the building Many peo-
ple thought that earthquake had struck
HobOken. .
The electrical superintendent of the WORKS a.
x Bonita was quickly informed OF the accident
hurried 20 the building and remained IN cnarge
all day Several hundred men were put 70 work
Immediately TO clear away the wreckage, ana
number Of skilled electricians were set TO re-
nairing the damage done TO the plant Power
uas turned on shortly before O'Clock last even
inc Mr. Ronta said. when asked what caused
tho accident: There was a break on the nhe'
and the engineer in examining the governor
allowed the engine TO get away from hlm. Inc
avwheel reyolyed so rapidly that the break oc-
cl,rred"