The sun., 1901-11-29
DOWNTOWN CARS POWERLESS
MANHOLE EXPLOSION HALTS
THEM FOR MANY HOURS.

Fire That Followed Destroyed Thrty-six
subway Gables From the Front
Street Distributing station - Tho
Lower sub-Trolley District Paraiyzed.
An explosion In street vault In Bowling
Green stopped all the electric surface cars
In the lower part Of the city for the last half
OF the afternoon and the evening.
The explosion blew q manhole cover OF
the vault In front Of the Produce Exchange
just at tho junction OF whitehall street and
Bowling Green. leak in q gas main
caused, II was supposed, by the exoava-
tions n,ado for the foundations Of the new
Custom House building, had allowed gas
TO accumulate In the neighboring sub
ways OF the Metropolitan Street Railway
Company's system between Bowling Green
and South Ferry. The gas company
spent hours In trying to find the origin
OF tho leak, and after tapping and block
ing one main az Front and Whitehall streets
went TO work on another In Bowling Green,
between Whitehall and State streets. The
explosion occurred shortly before s o clock.
The manhole cover was broken. and q
fame several feet high shot into the air
and continued for several minutes. Some
observers said the fame came from the
manhole opening and some said IL came
from the trolley slots nearby. There are
few people In the streets in that vicinity
on a holiday in the winter time. II the
fame came from the msnhole there must
have beOp an interval bet ween the explo-
sion and the outburst Of the flame, for
the conductor Of car which had just
passed the point. supposing that his car
had in some way knocked on the manhole
cover, jumped from his car and. TO the
amazement OF his confreres close at hand.
looked down the manhole, as though TO
see what else there was TO como up. His
older comrades shuddered. Motormen
shut of their power instantly, and CON-
ductors wondered momentarily which was
the direction Of safety.
IF was lookin' for a sort OF irresponsible
way OF suicide said one Of them. Il would
have gone and peered over that hole as he
did. Gee, thought ed gone clean nutty.'
Tho point OF the explosion is visible
10 the up and downtown cars on both the
Broadway and Sixth and Eighth avenue
lines. When motormen found that nothing
had happened in their own particular
cans and that they had power with which
TO proceed they started up again. and cars
whose crews and passengers had seen the
explosion on the down trip on the westward
side of Bowling Green had time to 60 10
The fairy and rstrr, 70 ro;,,s aho,.a ,ho
.,..,. ~, ,.,"n 80 w
explosion on the up trips oefore all power |
had left them.
The fire from the explosion presently |
burned all the insulating material from |
the cables In the conduit extending from |
the vault where the explosion took place |
along Bowling Green 10 Broadway, put
ting out OF commission thirty-six cables
from tho Front street Distributing
station and paralyzing that station. SO
that all power from there was shut Oft
This meant the withdrawal of power from
the cars Of all lines In the section supnlied
from Front street, so the cars OF the Second
Third and Fourth avenue lines were stoppcd
below Canal street, those of the Road
way line below Grand street and tboae of
the Sixth and Eighth avenue lines haIox
Grove street. and the cars on the live napts
of the roads were switched af,er a ,in,a
at convenient points above these s,rae,s
30 as 10 keep the upper parts Of the roads
Downtown people. accustomed to tenn