The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-22
CENTRAL'S GAS PLANT WRECK
EXPLOSION IN THE MOTT HAVEN
YARDS KILLS ONE MAN.
Several Others Are Injured-1ank Tar
Filled with Gas Used TO iight the
Cars Blows lp-LOt OF Machinery
DestrOyed-Dama About &2S 900.

Cars Blows Up-LOt OF Machinery
Destroyed Damage About S2S ,OOO
A fire in the Mott Haven freight yards OF
the New York Central and the Harlem rail-
roads, followed by four terrific explosions,
shortly after noon yesterday. completely
wrecked the gas making plant of the
Pntsch company, which supplied all OF the
cars with gas lights. set fire to the supply
shops and machine shops. completely de-
stroying them, and caused the death OF one
man and painful injuries TO number OF
others
The Pintsch people made their gas in
n small two-story brick building at the north
end of the Mott Haven yards. This build
ing is close to the west wall OF the yarvts,
which are depressed, and level with the
roof is Sheridan avenue. About NIFTY leet
south of the building was storage tank
in which surplus gas is. kept 1t holds
10000 cubic feet Of gas and was about
third full Yesterday.
The brick building contained one engine
and six compressors. As fast a. the gas
was made it was piped into iron drums IN
which it was transported TO the various
parts of the road A good deal OF 1t was
taken to the Grand Central Station ana
put in the car tanks there -
in the building Yesterday when II caught
fire. and about fifty of them were fun OF gas
just outside of the building on switch
was a tank car full of gas.
just how the gas plant caught lTe Is noo
known Most of the worknen had been
out of the building half an hour when the
flames were discovered. one story Is
that some boys on Sheridan avenue thre"
matches or cigarettes down into the refuse
in the rear of the building and that II caught
l,nt ~ az
of the gas factory accidentally set fre 10 a
lot Of ol-soaked cotton waste.
As soon a. the flames were seen every
body in that part Of the yard ran. Three
explosions followed in quick succession
They blew the insides out of the building and
standing. The worst explosion came when
the tank car full of gas caught hre;
This explosion split the tank in half and
hurled one piece weighing about 500 POUNDS
down the yard. 1t struck Joseph Careno,
an Italian track laborer, of 154th street and
Morris avenue, who was standing so yards
away Careno was removed to Lebanon
Hospital, but died shortly after getting
there.
John Weyler. machinst, of 7?l East
10th street and Leonard Stoker OF % FAST
Eghty-eighth street an electrician, were
slightly burned. A number of others whose
names were not obtained by the police We're
also slightly burned. A man riding BIZ
cycle across the 153d street bridge was
struck on leg by a fragment OF iron when
the tan car exploded, but was not seriously
injured.
The explosion of the tank car set fire
to the drop table, the supply house and the
machine shops of the Harlem road, some
twenty-five yards away. The Xardmen
tried to fight these fires with what ap-
paratus they had, but could do little. The
buildings were entirely destroyed. num-
Der of Pullman cars in the yards were
slightly burned and several windows in
the Adolphus, the private car OF Brewer
Busch of St. Louis. were broken. The
storage tank although close to the burn
ing buildings and less than 100 feet from
The tank car, did not explode:
WhP1 the fremen arrived on the scene.
hey ha d great trouble gating their hose
10 the IA rning buildings. 1t was inpossi-
Die to ga. the engines into I, he yards with,
out taking them a mile and "a half around
he Melrose end. Most of the engines
gathered on Railroad avenue, the eastern
boundary Of the yards, and ran their hose
cross II took LOO feet to stretch across
he yards.
Or New Haven ,oads could pass in either
direction. This difficulty was finally over
come by digging the stone ballast from
between railroad ties and running the
hose under the rails.
The damage, according to 1. A. McCor-
mick, assistant manager of the Harlem
-oad, will amount to about S25,OU. Be
cause Of the destruction, of the gas plant
a number OF trains will be without gas for
several days
While most, Of the eng hles, in The Bronx
we're busy at the fire, the third rail started
several ties on the Third avenue elevated
structure at l5eth street blazing. The
railway men tried TO put out the blaze, but
they succeeded only in keeping the fire
from spreading until an engine arrived
minutes after the alarm was sent in. The
damage didn't amount to much.