The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-11
ELEVATOR FELL 10 FLOORS.
TWO PERSONS KILLED IN THE TRACT
SOCIETY BUILDING.

society s tall butldtnR at Nassau and Spruce
streets broke loose at 9 o'clock last evening and
fell to the cellar, smashing itself into splintcrs
and scrap iron a d crushing TO death the eleva.
tor boy and the engineer of the building.
Only these two were in the c r at the time of
the mishap. Nicholas Nelson was the engineer
and Isaac Bachrach was the elevator boy. Mel.
son was ~ years old and married. He lived at
Monitor and Nassau streets. Grcenpoint. Bach
rach was 10 years old and lived with his parents
at 4s7 East Seventy.seventh street.
How Tar the elevator fell no one can tell. but
the spirit Indicator beside the shaft showed
after the fall that the car had been to the nine
tecnth floor, and tho gauge still marked that
figure when all WAS over. William Tammany.
a lad who works on the ninth floor. saw the car
going past that floor on the way up a moment
before the crash. and one OF the caretakers In
the building, q woman. saw 1t falling past the
seventeenth door, where she was working.
When Tammany saw the car going up he
thinks that he saw the engineer standing on top
OF it The car shot straight down. evidently
with no material restrictions either from the
dragging back OF the hosting cable, hundreds OF
feet Of which 1t brought with II. or from tho
safety appliances with which II was equipped to
meet just such an emergency.
The crash was terrific. No sound was heard
from he doomed men. however. Lefore or after
the crash, but the noise OF rushing waite, came
from the basement floor. as the water used to
operate the elevator escaped through the pipes
which had been torn away by the blow OF the
failing cage.
Just below the main floor and above these
pipes stood a stout iron beam. crossing the well
OF the elevator and having upon its upper face
two buffers meant to receive the car and ease
It's impact when It reached the bottom Of It's or
binary toprpev This ham uoa brotnp In tvro
and carried down as wreckage with the car and
then on top Of tho car fell a tangled mass of
Some one turned in an alarm OF FIRE and a call
for an AMBULANCE q moment after the crash. In
a few minutes Trucks and 10 and Engines 7
lance. Chief Cruger Of Fire Battalion / came
with the maSLines and dirseted the work Of re-
3nG A0G and glass; w @fH , Which ava" i1yclo sed
toe t6St foot ont s e ss seos ssaf steel spS work 1ss 3, Ri! piece sa by R,i ssi
until they came TO the bodies. There had been
no hope for those in The elevator from the very
first, and as soon AS II was clear that there we're
only two OF them, and their bodies had been
recovered. the work Of the Hremen was done,
known until mechanical experts examine the
ruins with care. and perhaps even then 1t will re-
tor that fell was the one known as No. G. Itran in
the well on the extreme right hand rs one stands
in the lobby. facing The semicircuiar bank OF
The other Ave elevators stop running every
evening nj : O'Clock. and this one runs all night
per correspondence " no have offices in the build.
ing. Since an ,accitent, in one OF the ele-
yators. in which several persons were hurt.
changes have been madefn the whole plant. and
with a rope. by means OF which the operator
could set the safety clutches that clip the cars
Some time before . O'clock Bschrsch inadvsr.
tently pu:.si this rope and stuck his car fast
the car. To do this a bar OF steel was inserted
In, the controlling bar OF tho safety butchers.
At its ENDS had loosened The clips which held
Nelson was working at this, and Henry Ian
watching him MP TO n few moments before the
accident; Landau left Nelson at work with
said a~fterwarG, that he had only turned his
back when tho crash came;
What probably happened Is that when Nelson
had released the car. he ordered Bochrach to
run It to the top Of the building to sec Il II
WORKED al right; and when It reached the limo
where it was attached to the hydraulic cylinder
that furnished the power. letting the car drop.
The safety clutch. which had caused the hrst
trouble, was provided with a governor oper-
ated by a separate rope in the well, and set
e! T sSs e IN such eIe. " %sy ! 7oG F %esns esS m 1hs sEseaa
screwed up the clutches automatically and thus
49, ~ pESN ~ wa - aAhhS SOA obty
be surniZed.
Perhaps the engineer unscrcwed the bar so far
TINT before The governor could Get the clutches
the car hau too much speed to be stopped and
tore the safety appliances away. or perhaps the
rope which worked, the governor was carried
away by the fall OF the mass of hoistinE cable in
the shaft.
10 the elevutor men and those familiar with
elevators the failure OF the safety appliances is
the most startling feature OF the accident. The
appliances IN the fallen car were OF tho most mp
proved kind and similar to those upon which
the safety of m aspnEeFa d0DpncA in AiIo-Ienthh
Of all the elevators used in this city.
BAD luck seems 70 follow TO elevators in the
were originally installed In the most expensive
manner and by the most experienced makers.
change has been ade in tho system, and was
done also without regard TO cost.
va TOR 0 made by yf the eqbS tie Sam az n5'' butt with ts s.s,
tTstem. which is used, with success in Great
system used here. II Was the first plant OF the
kind in this country, and tho arrangement OF
As the water was used at a pressure OF 700
pounds TO a square Inch. with the cable rove to
give a speed TO the car twelve times that Of the
piston in the hydraulic cylinder. very little
watoI admitted to the cylinders would mike
the Ears go Jumping. about, and the elevator
boys found II almost impossible to stop at the
.Chapges were made in the valves until this
sihought thoy had everything Just right
a bolt broke one t"y in the early part Of this
year and let the water out OF a cylinder.
Tn elevator car shot down n dozen stories
or so with such speed that when It landed
one Of the passengers was thrown down and
broke his knee caps and other passengers were
bruised: There were nino passengers In the
car. when It fell, and either 1t did not
go faster than tn 200 feet a minute for which
the safety appliance was set, or else the clutches
failed to work AT that time. They wero tried
the next day and worked al right.
Since that time an entire change has been
made in the system under the chnrge Of the
system the hydraulic cylinders were e1.
tended in length un'i' they wore each half
the height OF tho hoist of the cnrs. the
prossurr was reduced 10 tue nermal low
and the reeving OF the hosting cables 10 only Two
to one. The old cars, with their safety clutch
arrangements were retained. with the addition
Of the guard rope mentioned. 10 give control OF
For %safety's s.ko there nrc four hosting cables
TO each car. making eight strands in all Tor each,
and these were supposed TO be ample to carry
without the slightest Hanger all the persons who
could DC crowded into a car.
BEOADW4T ROAD BLOCKED AGAIN.