incident to Steam Boilers. 131 



as well as the engine were nearly new. One man, unfortu- 

 nately, was killed, and the stack of the engine-house was much 

 shattered, as well as the building itself. The interior tubes of 

 the boilers were much contorted and rent. Captain Reed, 

 who was near the spot, remarked, that the one explosion was 

 heard a little before the other, but the noise had hardly ceased 

 when the second took place. 



Some time after, one of the boilers of the e^-inch cylinder 

 engine at East Crennis Mine blew up. This engine was also 

 under the care of Mr. Sims, but had been much longer at 

 work than that at Polgooth. The inner tube was compressed 

 as if the fire had softened the part above it, though there 

 did not appear to be any other reason to think that the water 

 was too low. The ends were torn to pieces, and the tube was 

 projected out of the case and out of the house, while the case 

 itself remained in its place, and scarcely injured. No person 

 was materially hurt. 



The last accident, which has led more particularly to these 

 remarks, happened at the Mold Mines in Flintshire, to a boiler 

 of a similar construction ; one of three working the Pen-y-fi'on 

 engine 66-inch cylinder, erected by Captain Francis the princi- 

 pal agent, but of late under the care of Mr. Bawden, engineer. 



The outer case remained in its seat uninjured, as at East 

 Crennis, and even the weight on the lever of the safety-valve 

 was not disturbed ; the inner tube was not moved out of its 

 place, although it was very much flattened or compressed for 

 a great part of its length, but in a contrary direction to that at 

 East Crennis ; the sides as it were having come together, and 

 not the top and bottom, they approached so close to each 

 other as to hold a brick, which it is not easy to account for 

 being there. The part which contained the fireplace, and 

 for some length near it, remained in the original form. The 

 ends both here and at East Crennis presented an appearance as 

 if they had broken the angle iron rather by the contraction of 

 the tubes than by being pressed outwards. 



Circumstances rendered it possible to get better evidence 

 of the state of the steam and water, &c. than happens in most 

 such instances; audit seemed certain that the former did not 

 exceed a pressure of SOlbs. an inch, and that the other was 

 quite at its proper height. There was a lead plug indeed above 

 the fire which would have been destroyed if it were not so. 



I'lie engine had been stopped a few minutes ; the engine- 

 man had ojiened the fire-doors of the three boilers, and had 

 closed the dampers of the otiier two: he was on this boiler, 

 putting down the damper in the flue, which was no sooner 

 done than he observed a gust of flame rushing from the flre- 

 S 2 place. 



