Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-06-07
boiler, without a moments warning,

wrenched itself from the framework,
jumped straight up in the air and then
sailed over into a nearby field. The
engineer and fireman were not killed,
not even hurt.
"As a rule the cause Of a boiler ex-
plosion Is shortage Of water Either
the engineer does not know the water
Is low or the injectors won't work.
And it isn't as simple matter to keep
a full supply Of water in a boiler as
one might think.
1T is when a lot Of cold water Is
sent into a very hot boiler in which the
water Is allowed to run low that the
trouble comes. Too sudden and ter
rifle pressure is more than steel plates
will stand.
| Not long ago I saw a green engi-
neer playing with certain death simply
because he did not know how to ham
die the water. He had run the en-
gine onto a sidetrack and was trying
to get the injectors to work. Madder
than a hornet. the new engineer used
every cuss word he was acquainted
with because the injectors wouldn't
send drop of water into the boiler.
1.-The water in the boiler by this time
had become very low, and the metal
kept getting hotter and hotter until
the lower part of the fire box was
cherry red. And that fellow was try
ing with all his might to get water in
to that boiler.
Getting down from my engine, ran
over and told him to quit fooling with
the injectors and to drop his fire just
as quick as he could, which was the
only thing to prevent bad explosion.
This he did, and the danger was soon
past, but he certainly burned her
good
Now that engineer didn't know 1t,
but he was in the same position as a
man trying to see how hard he can hit
a thousand pounds Of dynamite with
a sledge hammer and wondering why
liz won't go off. The conditions were
such that the moment he got a stream
of cold water started the boiler would
have gone up into the air like a bal
loon. That engineer really didn't
know how much he had to be thank
full for because the injectors consist
emily refused to work.
1T used to happen once in while
in the old days that boiler blew up
on account of being worn out or de-
fective, but this does not happen often
In these times. The boilers nowadays
are so thoroughly tested and so well
and strongly made that nine times out
Of ten the cause Of explosion will be
found to be low water.
There was boiler explosion some
years ago that was right up to the
company. The boiler Of an engine on
a road running into Indianapolis had
been condemned for sometime, but
there was such a shortage Of power that
the company took the chance OF using
the engine until a let-up in the traffic
would give it an opportunity to lay the
engine up for repairs.
1.-THE engine didn't wait for that
time to come, but let loose one night
about twenty miles from indianapolis
and scattered the played out boiler
over the immediate vicinity, inciden-
tally distributing the engineer and
fireman over the same area.
mo sooner did word reach the head
quarters of the explosion than large
force Of men was sent to the scene be-
fore daybreak; and for perfectly OBJ
vious reasons, taking sledge hammers
they pounded every bit of the old boil
er that could be located into such a
condition that no one could ever tell
whether there had been any thing de-
fective about it or not.
But you may depend upon it when
the company Is in the right every ef-
fort is made to preserve evidence that
the explosion was brought about
through the fault Of the engineer.
Some time ago an engine blew up on
one Of the roads running into Baltl-
more and both engineer and fireman
were killed. The engine, or what was
left of it, was placed on a side track
by the company for future reference.
The fault was clearly with the engi-
neer, for the reason that the crown
sheet was badly burned and the boil
er had given away in that spot.
There is not the slightest truth In
the statement that an engine about to
blow up will make some sort of noise.
Il never gives warning, but simply
lets go, and lucky is the man who sees
one go up and lives to tell about 1t.
,,-- ----1- ,h AIT