The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-09
WALDORF ELEVATOR FALLS
THE SAFETY CLUTCHES FAILED
TO OPERATE.
Two OF the Hotel Employees uujured-Eiec-
trio Light wires Brokcn and a Fire
Caused at the notton OF the Elevator Shaft
The l.iEhts In the Restaurant Put out.

A passenger elevator in the Hotel Waldorf
fell yesterday afternoon from the seventh to
the ground floor. The right leg Of Michael
Clark OF go East Forty.third street, who
was IN charge OF tho car, was broken. Paul
j. Schuhcr. head accountant in tho restaurant,
was shaken up. but was not seriously hurt.
These two were the only occupants of the car.
The accident happened n few minutes after 4
O'Clock and caused q slight panic In the hotel,
ms the elevators fall broke some electric
light wires, extinguishing the lights in the
restaurant and setting fire to the bottom of
the elevator shaft. Quiet soon followed, how.
ever, as tho blaze amounted to but little.
Tho cur which fell Ia ono OF three just off
tho corridor leading from the Fifth avenue
entrance to the office. II is nearest tho dining
room and is known "a No. 3. Shortly after
4 O'Clock Sthubcr, who was on the tenth floor
Of the hotel, signalled No. 3 to como up and
take him down. Clark responded and ran
his car up without anything wrong occurring.
Having taken Schuber aboard he set his lever
to return. He says that the car started down
moro rapidly than usual. Accompanying
the increased speed there wns n peculiar
grating sound. Clark was frightened. He
showed his lever to a central position, expect
ing thus to shut Off the power controlling the
action Of the hydraulic pumps in the basement
and bring tho car to q stop.
Instead Of stopping, the car, which was then
at the sixth floor. gave a sudden bound up tho
Schuber were thrown TO their knees by tho
shock, and before they could say Jack Robin.
sTiah the 5s, car spo sia I Il s,rlc doT iho the he,t shaft 81 With tba
shaft on a Lowell with the office floor with q
shock that doubled tn" inmates up and knocked
n the restaurant went out, The few guests
the, crowded corridor. Explanations OF fright
and surprise were hoard on all sides. No one
knew for a moment what had happened.
shaft, and there was a rush in that direction.
S fe hel had nffiF s TEasi to Iea his Sa feet sr aps ~ sss SI hsIns
a lsss a tn re his fe nee w "atcB pale de a e. death ,ni,ao but ut he he was was
q settee. At, hrst it wa feared that he was
face was covered with blood. and the shock to
his system had been SO severe that he was
however, on being taken to his room in the
hotel Clark was conveyed to Bellevue Hos
While the victims OF the accident were being
attended to, q new danger arose. A Styling
bottom Of the car. and soon smoke and flames
ed, and the clatter Of The engines as they whirled
fire. in itself amounted to little and was soon
E;x,in g shed ,-,s 1t ,,y THs cause caused % Sy the ,h break ak;
crashed against the bottom Of tho shaft it near.
" knocked the bottom out; A false floor had
s sseR S %as III, here Impact IA wS Of h tse falling bsas eisva sUr
that It was punched down a foot, On the other
s the Easement ehns hoq ram w a num 1ob%oa Of 'n %ir rei.'nf T6 Ss
floors displacement broke them and caused
the trouble.
mirrors on the sides were broken to bits, and o
piece OF the glass cut SSchuber over his right eye.
The elevators Of the Waldorf are all insured
In tho Fidelity and Casualty Company, and are
p Insee's Sept. m 81. ffhio ma msna assa snsp ef .Se h ,oSi
now has IL Its possession q certificate signed by
and Casualty Company, declaring that the
cables, guides. shoaves, overhead timbers, and
ssssfsr. aP &ir2Sis. had sna bs NnoS STS~i h III y COIN In:
pany. and found to be in perfect order.
Eth The s.o s]le cc'nPsn yS Of Boston, gst IN R,s !As arg w ran sy
steel cables ,hrse.au"r.ers Of an inch in diam:
An examination q the cables after the acct.
snapped as clean as though 1t had been cut.
within an inch Of the anchorage; The other
emf distance from the anchorage. but within a
The small cable. by means of which the lever
In the car shut of the power, was also broken.
The piston in the cylinder head was drawn in to
the fun. as when the car is at the top of the
A!th ugh supplied with safety clutches. these
onit 1851 hiAh hhoS Az "io ~ thihh bhCJ
former odicer OF the Whittier Machine Com
were equipped With the Baldwin safety, appii.
ance. 'In construction" he continued. " the
certain OF stopping the fall OF n car only hen
the cables are broken between the car and the
shaft.
The absolute failure Of the safety appliances
%,, T0 Makes w,' iGs sc thstT h so Els been eIsvs tempered nsS!
haps. the most serious and disquieting OF any
ssns has s,.v sysr i, ht,RRpsn of, to a modern pas
twas not possib 0 to learn at the Waldorf last
night what the conclusions Of the experts who
Assistant Engineer joseph Zeller and men from
the insurance company examined tho whole lot
the car. their fndings and conclusions were not
made public.
n ths arrangement Of the elevators in tho
venience are placed along the engine
a ssG% ceiling ps'ns A Si.ssd 1sr, 1ss}Sad D. q; as ,l 4
%sioy"tor wells. The cylinders are larEs
in diameter a and short abort and the e%leveiors which
that the car travels ten times as far and at ton
times the speed of the piston rod that works It.
which travels back and forth in guides. and this
contains q We sheaves. each grooved for the four
'0 'Rt the s1 other r. end Of tho path of this pulley
block is another similar one. The fuor hosting
thu building opposite the travelling block, and
passed over and over this and the fixed block
nVe separate tlults, Lueu tney went up 10 n set
OF turning sheaves AZ the top of the elevator
we'll and down to the car.
II tho elevator mans description of what hap
pcned to tho car is correct, what seems to have
occurred to tho hosting appliances is
this: The hosting ropes gave way at the
end furthcst from the car and. held hack, as
they were, by. the friction Of passing over the
various sets q sheaves, instead OF dropping the
, creasing speed, and let tho car 20 down at a
constantly accelerated ratio.
The slipplng OF the ropes around he sheaves
, would have made the grinding noise which was
hoard. The shutting off OF the power had
probably nothing 10 do with the jump
Of tho car. This would have been
caused had tho looscned ends of the
ropes suddenly wrapped about each other,
: ceased to run out. Tho car thus checked would
, have rebounded, and then, in It's free fall back
, to tho point OF rebound. striking with Its full
weight and great velocity upon the ropes
O., either freed them or carried them away
} altogether. 1t was at tho moment when the cal
: began to go SO fast as to alarm Clark that the
2 aafcty clutches should have been autnmAtically
! sol, II thoy. we're Of a proper modern design.
z The breaking OF the hosting ropes was a mat
+ ter OF surprise TO the engineers OF the building
for they said these ropes wero new ones, which
1 | i-ll -. ..,t la pnI % a fnNaN InnEa arn