Delaware gazette and state journal., 1902-12-18

Eldridge b. Plummer of log East
Eighth street. through passenger
engineer on the p, z. & w. railroad,
and 2l other men were severely injured
in the collapse of the PoYelton ayenue
roundhouse Of the Pennsylvania rail-
road, in Philadelphia, Monday after
noon. Mr.. Plummer sustained scalr
wounds. He is at the Medicoi
Chirurgical hospital. The others inn
iured and taken to hospitals, all resi-
dents of Philadelphia, were as follows
John bnughrey, head injured; A. II.
Gillespie, mead injured; Patrick Toland,
arm broken; John Ward, hip confused !;
Joseph Pennypacker, head injured ;
Philip Brennan, back badly crushed /;
Michael Lewis. head injured II.
NJ. Guilt, head injured; d. Nc
Cam, slight injuries; S. McCann,
slight injuries; A. Doyle, slightly in
| jured; ;. bass, sight injuries; w.
Pancake, head cu.; y. ScaDlan, face
cut; william; Thompson, seriously in
! jured John Sottka, seriously injured /;
| y. Fitzgerald, scalp injured; G..
GreiAci, head and shoulder cut; James
Burk, laeeratsd scalp: John Fricke,
confused about Shoulders; Victor Rein
hart, leg broken. Others were hurt,
| but were able to 80 to their homes
| There we're about 80 men in the build
\ ing. They wers working on II loco
motives stalled in the house for tenn
forary repairs Tbjrty-one locomotives
| were damaged.
The roundhouse is about ESQ feet in
diameter, and is the largest building
OF its kind OF tG6 Pennsylvania railroad
! in Philadelphia. In the centre is a
/ go ni Il, ;oI, A 4
! giving sta!ling room for 42 engines, and
! an inbound and an outbound track.
! Tho roof extends about 81 feet from
| the brick wall, and rests on AZ iron
| pillars, leaving an uncovered space for
| the turntable. The trusses are Of Steel
! Tho roof is of slate There we're 81
! engines in the roundhouse Monday
! afternoon being prepared for runs
/ scheduled for that night with the ex-
4 cepsion Of two new engines that had
I just been turned out at Baldwin's, and
upon which gang of machinists wore
I putting the finishing touches. The
| cleaners aud wipers we're cleaning the
! locomotives, when there was crackline
I noise, and rusty truss roll in the rool
brolye. Then one arch gave way, and
tho roof fell in.
/ Weakened, the next arch on the east
side fell, and cne after another tho
sections went down, like succession
] of ten pins in an alley, until 10 arches
had fallen, burying the mon and
engines beneath mass of twisted rods,
| pillars and broken slate. The noise
was heard block away.
A cloud Of black dust arose. The
rods struck the escape wives on the
fired engines, and almost instantly
there was kissing rear OF steam thai
enveloped the partly ruined building
in a heavy white cloud The whistles
footed spasmodically, hut above the
din and roar arose the cries of the in
| iured men pinned in the engine cabs
or imprisoned beneath the debris that
fell between the engines. A hurry call
for ambulances was sent. The escaping
steam gave the ruins the appearance Of
being on fire and an alarm was turned
in, bringing changing engines to the
scene and adding to the confusion.
Fellow workmen dug the men out.
Most of them had some laoerations
about the head and body caused by
the falling slate. Thompson, Softka,
Toland and Brennan we're the worst in.
jured, each having been struck on the
body by a truss rod. OF the IL Bald
win men, seven were hurt. The Others
were railroad men. The railroaders got
their fire apparatus at work and banked
the. fires, and the engines soon became
| cool