The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-02-05


= Candles must be used temper 4
y arily to light the sleepers and y
= other first-class coaches of the y
= Oregon Short Line, Rio Grande +
? Western. Southern Pacific and =
= Union Pacific railroads, The y
= Pintsch gas plant at Ogden, de- y
? stroyed yesterday, furnished gas +
= for lighting the cars of all these y
railroads. 1t is the only plant of =
= it's kind between Denver and the y
= coast, and the railroads are help q
less without it, as far as a supply =
, of Illuminating gas is concerned. =
The best cars of the different y
, railroads are fitted for the use of =
= Pintsch gas only. There are no =
brackets for kerosene lamps. AS =
a consequence the different rail +
= roads will use the supplies of gas =
now in the tanks on the cars, =
= winch will last only a day or two, y
and then theywiH be obliged to use =
candles until provision can be =
= made to supply kerosene lamps. =
The fitting of all the cars for the =
= use Of kerosene lamps viii take +
= some time, and il will be several y
= days at least before new gas ap- =
= paratUs can be installed. so the =
y outlook is that the passenger cars =
. will, for the present, be lighted Z
by candies.
= = = y ! & y ~ y >
The gas also caught fire and this
spread the havoc to men and horses.
Zed Lowe of the fire department was
not so seriously hurt as the assistant
chief. He ran away to escape the fall
ing debris. fighting the flames from his
! head and face as he ran. The burn
ing gas settled about him and ignited
his clothing He threw off his coat
and rolled in the snow. finally getting
the fire out. He then went back to the
wagon
George Lockhead, foreman in charge
| OF the gas house, was taken TO the hos
| pital after the accident and also Chat
! fin. the only other employee present
when the fire started. They could not
be seen tonight. but the generally ac-
cepted theory of the cause of the fire
! is as follows:
Theory of Cause.
In the process of making Pintsch gas
there is stage when the mixture is
in the form of hydro-carbon. Some of
tltiS nydr0-carbon had become frozen,
clcgging UP the valves. and a cap was
1 taken of one Of the tanks in order to
clean It out. When this hydro-carbon
| came in contact with the air it evapO-
| rated and became gas, which in some
way became ignited This caused a
| small explosion and resulted in setting
fire TO the light woodwork around the
tanks
Lockhead ran over 70 the Rio Grande
round house and sent in an alarm
BY the lime the chemical, engine had
arrived he feared that an explosion
/ might result and tried to warn the
! firemen against remaining in the vi
cinity. Consequently ne, with Chafin
and Lowe. was near the furnace hole
when the terrific explosion occurred
Lockhead escaped the flying debris, bu1
was dazed by the force of the explo-
sion. He wandered a block or two
from the scene before he w2s fOunC
and taken to the hospital.
Many Marrow Escapes.
Al the injured last night complained
of pains in the chest, indicating tina
they had inhaled a quantity of the gas
and had been injured by the concus
sion. There is not much cause fol
alarm except in the case of TOgers.
There was a long list of narrow es
capes from death by the falling debris
The Rio Grande passenger train from
the south passed the gas house just +;
few moments before the explosion oc
Cured. A difference of a minute o.
two would have resulted in d less o
life appalling 10 contemplate.
After the explosion as a freight train
was passing. a cross arm of telegraph
pole, apparently solid, suddenl!
dropped 10 the ground. missing
switchman who was walking beside tn
train by only few inches.
The ground was tangled with a mas
of telegraph wires. all the wires 70
the west being down for several hours
But tonight two railroad wires and on
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