Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1903-06-13
POWDER EXPLOSION.
Twenty-Five Thousand Pounds Does
Some Damage.
BELONGED TO GRANT BROS.

The Citizen published, the other day, |
a brief account of the explosion of %,
900 pounds of blasting powder near
Phoenix. The particulars of the acct
dent are as Iollows, taken from the
Prescott Herald:
Last night about 10 o'clock one of
the most disastrous wrecks since the |
Santa Fe. Prescott & Phoenix was
built, took place a mile south of Glen |
dale. ten miles north of Phoenix. and
was caused by an explosion of %, 900 |
pounds of blasting powder, consigned
to Grant Bros, contractors. The dam
age to the railroad company runs up
into the thousands of dollars, fully
covered by insurance.
While the train. which was No. 3.
southbound, was running along about |
a mile beyond Glendale, the train crew |
noticed hat the car of powder was
burning. The train was stopped i'm
mediately and Brakeman Ardle wentin
between the burning car and the next
freight car with the intention OF cut
ting the burning car out. He was just
pulling the pin when the powder ex-
ploded. How he ever escaped instant
death will always be a mystery. While
the ears on each side of the powder
car were literally blown to pieces,
III IaI ,A- YhA Gold
where he had been blown, and began
to assist in saving property.
Eight cars of freight were more or
less damaged, -four cars and contents.
car of powder, car of merchandise, car
of spikes and one car of coal were
blown to pieces and the pieces burn
ed in the fire which started immediate
ly after the explosion. A car of rail
road stationery was blown to pieces,
together with a car Of coal and two of
ties, making a total of eight cars
wrecked. four totally destroyed. The
explosion wrecked part of the machin-
cry of the locomotive and the fire
| Dul ~ luc NOOu NOlh vi nv Nop
Probably the engine was damaged to
the extent of $1,000.
Several passengers were in the ca
boose when the explosion occurred,
hut no one was seriously injured. Con
ductor Wallin who was in the caboose,
rushing out and took charge of the
work saving all the property possible
for the company. With the assistance
of the balance of the train crew and
residents of Glendale, who had hurried
to the scene, the conductor %uncoupled
and pushed out of the way several cars
which had not been blown from the
rails. Had they not pushed the cars
away the entire train would have been
consumed in the fire which destroyed
four cars.
A man named Sharp, Charles Akers
and Judge Baker, who were sitting on
the caboose, were slightly injured.
Engineer Chambers was quite pain.
fully injured about the head and
shoulders. Fireman Tom Ship had
his hearing temporarily destroyed. He
did not even hear the explosion, so
great was the jar TO his ear-drums,
The explosion was heard in Phoenix.
where the shock was also very dis.
tinct. Some people thought there
had been an earthquake; some thought
the world was coming to an end, and
some thought different things. The
railroad people surmised the truth and
, Immediately began to get a train ready
to go to the scene. Medical assistance
was taken along. When the special
arrived at the scene the people on il
were surprised TO find that no n had
/ ben killed in the explosion. They found
wreckage scattered for several hun
dred yards on every side. A hole had
been blown in the roadbed eight feet
! deep and eighty feet in length, Tele
phone poles were torn up and blown
10 pieces.
The news Of the wreck was wired
3 to Prescott and Messrs. Anewalt, En-
inert and Story went down on the
evening passenger train, which was