New-York tribune., 1907-09-27
WEST SIDE TIED UP.
SURFACE LINES STUCK.
Feed Cable Burns. Gripping Fast
Section During Rush Hours.

The burning out of part of an asse1nblage o
feeder cables underground at 59th street and
! Sixth avenue late yesterday afternoon caused
/ an hours serious tie-up of surface lines over
| The greater part of the western half of Man
haitian In the section between 23d and s6tf
streets Madison avenue and the North River
! the lines which ordinarily supplied through
! the transforming station at 5Gth street and
/ Seventh avenue suffered an almost complete loss
/ of power
/ With help from other power houses of the
! marlborough Metropolitan system the West
Side Iimped along on half power throughout the
evening rush hours. After that the cars had
enough for the rest of the night. and Manager
Oren Root declared that everything would be
all right again by o'clock this morning
The stoppage had the usual effect upon the
sections north and south of it, in blocking the
cars for long periods. Sometimes a dozen or
twenty cars would be stuck in long line. and
homebound workers in the downtown section
waited and fumed and then took to the crowded
Il" and subway. to add to their rush hour jam
The cause of the tieup as explained by Man
ager Oren Root. the burning out OF a high
tension cable in a manhole at 59th street and
Sixth avenue This cable brings the electric
current from the big power house at s6th street
and the East River a $500 voltage. alternating
street and Seventh avenue where the big rotary
transformers change it TO 500 voltage direct
current for the use of the surface cars through
the channel rail. The cause OF the burning out
the cornpany's electricians could not determine.
1t created such intense heat and electrical
disturbance in the manhole that IL set nre 10
several of the other cables there and caused
them to burn out,
Thanks to the afety devices known as blow
out switches" which cut off the current when
anything happens, the big and costly apparatus
at the Transforming station was not damaged
Patrolman Miller. of the East DIST street sta
ton. saw smoke rising from one OF half dozen
1nanholes at the corner. Then the manhole
cover popped of with loud report, followed by
a cloud of smoke. Quickly. afrerward. the COW
ers of the other manholes blew off. too
A wrecking gang was hustled TO the scene and
several loads Of sand were dumped into the
manhoes and the flames put out. The fire so
heated the manhoes, however that the repair
gang could not get down 10 the wires until two
or three hours after the burn-out. and had to
dig UP the pavement and earth outside, cool the
holes end reach the destroyed cables.
Cars on the Lexington. Madison. Sixth and
Amsterdam. Eighth and Tenth avenue lines. on
Broadway. and the 34th 42d and 59th street
crosstown lines. were Immediately rendered
powerless. For nearly an hour they stuck where
they stood. and then help gradually reached
them through temporary connections.
The under officials. who had to answer the in
dgnant questions Of the delayed passengers,
were very morose over the situation. one man.
pointed out as the boss of the barns at
Ninth avenue and 53d street declared to an in
quisitive reporter: THE newspapers needn't
think they get any information from
Isn't the Public Service Commission giving us
trouble enough?"
Late last evening the company had gang of
about seventv-hve men where the manholes blew
up working ct top speed to put the cables back
into condition for the morning rush hours