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The Bingley explosion
THE BINGLEY EXPLOSION, TIIE fatal boiler esplosion at Bingley, which caused the death of fifteen persons, and injured about twenty-five more, has been the subject of investigation by Mr. L. E. Fletcher, Engineer-in-Chief to the Manchester Steam Users’ Association. The examination was made at the instance of the coroner, who very judiciously adjourned the inquest pending Mr. Fletcher’s report. That document has now appeared, and, from a perusal of its contents, it appears to us miraculous how the boiler lasted so long as it did. It was of the type usually employed in the Lanca,shire and Yorkshire mills, but was constructed of jnferior metal, and so was wrong from the first. Previously to being put to work at Bingley, it had seen some eight or nine years’ service in another establishment. When it left the latter place, it was purchased by a boiler maker, repaired, and resold. The repairs were necessitated by external corrosion underneath the boiler, but they were imperfectly done. Half-inch plates were riveted on to the old plates where they had become worn to a quarter of an inch. Thus patched up, the boiler lasted three years, when it exploded with the falal effects we have mentioned. From an examination of the fragments, Mr. Fletcher found that leakage began at the junction of the old and new work. In more
than one place, the plates were found to be reduced to the thickness of a sheet of paper-the old, old story. Of course, the shell gave way here, and the rent proceeding thence through the adjoining plates, soon completed the destruction of the boiler. But the piece of patchwork was not the only fault the boiler had ; it was badly equipped, and badly tended as well. The safety valve was too small and of defective construction, and the engine tender is believed to have been both incompetent and reckless-two conditions generally found associated together. Mr. Fletcher, however, very properly observes that some more practical lesson should be drawn from this fatal catastrophe than to throw the onus of fifteen deaths upon an ignorant stoker already killed by the explosion. The jury, however, returned a verdict of manslaughter against the dead stoker, and censured the owners bf the mill for employing so incompetent an attendant and leaving him without supervision. They also recommend that all boilers should be brought under government inspection, and there the matter rests. But the circumstances attending ‘the constructibn and use of this boiler call
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Civil nnd .&iechtanicnlEngineering.
for further remark here. We have over and over again pointed out how really preventable are those explosions, and that, therefore, they do not properly come iithinthe meaning of the term “accident.” It is needless to observe that this boiler was not under inspection, or it would have been condemned three years since. Had it been properly constructed at first, and placed under the protective inspection of one or other of the companies formed for this purpose, it is highly improbable that the recent catastrophe could have occurred. To guard against the possibility of bad material, Mr. Fletcher suggests that the plates used in the construction of boilers should not only be branded or stamped, like silver, with a certificate of quality, but marked also with the name of the manufacturer, so that the responsibility of the work could always be brought home to him. Then, with regard to the fittings, we all know how easy it is to meet ignorance or foolhardiness by safety valves of proper construction. In short, the Bingley explosion is only a repetition of an ofttold story, which must lead to protective legislation if repeated in the highly culpable form it has here assumed. Such events make us look with anxiety to the work the Committee of the Manchester Steam Users’ Association have taken in hand, for promoting the security of life and property against unsound boilers. They propose that coroners should be empowered and instructed to command the attendance of competent engineers to give evidence when con,ducting inquiries in reference to these disasters. This would render unnecessary any government action, which might prove an interference with the freedom of the steam user, but to which he will inevitably have to submit if he does not mend his ways.
Road Watering. -All lovers of fair play will be glad to hear that Mr. Cooper’s system of laying the dust by means of a solution of certain salts, is now in full and successful operation in Liverpool, with the cordial cooperation of the local authorities. !l!hanks to the inefficient supervision exercised by the Marylebone vestry, over the ignorant and interested servants whom they appointed overseers during Mr. Cooper’s contract, and the consequent persecution and pecuniary loss to which that gentleman was subjected, there will be little chance of improvement for our metropolitan roads just at present. In Liverpool it is found that 75 per cent. of the work of water distribution is saved, but probably the most interesting fact elicited is that in streets watered on Mr. Cooper’s system, sweeping may be practically dispensed with, This is a result worth noting.
than one place, the plates were found to be reduced to the thickness of a sheet of paper-the old, old story. Of course, the shell gave way here, and the rent proceeding thence through the adjoining plates, soon completed the destruction of the boiler. But the piece of patchwork was not the only fault the boiler had ; it was badly equipped, and badly tended as well. The safety valve was too small and of defective construction, and the engine tender is believed to have been both incompetent and reckless-two conditions generally found associated together. Mr. Fletcher, however, very properly observes that some more practical lesson should be drawn from this fatal catastrophe than to throw the onus of fifteen deaths upon an ignorant stoker already killed by the explosion. The jury, however, returned a verdict of manslaughter against the dead stoker, and censured the owners bf the mill for employing so incompetent an attendant and leaving him without supervision. They also recommend that all boilers should be brought under government inspection, and there the matter rests. But the circumstances attending ‘the constructibn and use of this boiler call
168
Civil nnd .&iechtanicnlEngineering.
for further remark here. We have over and over again pointed out how really preventable are those explosions, and that, therefore, they do not properly come iithinthe meaning of the term “accident.” It is needless to observe that this boiler was not under inspection, or it would have been condemned three years since. Had it been properly constructed at first, and placed under the protective inspection of one or other of the companies formed for this purpose, it is highly improbable that the recent catastrophe could have occurred. To guard against the possibility of bad material, Mr. Fletcher suggests that the plates used in the construction of boilers should not only be branded or stamped, like silver, with a certificate of quality, but marked also with the name of the manufacturer, so that the responsibility of the work could always be brought home to him. Then, with regard to the fittings, we all know how easy it is to meet ignorance or foolhardiness by safety valves of proper construction. In short, the Bingley explosion is only a repetition of an ofttold story, which must lead to protective legislation if repeated in the highly culpable form it has here assumed. Such events make us look with anxiety to the work the Committee of the Manchester Steam Users’ Association have taken in hand, for promoting the security of life and property against unsound boilers. They propose that coroners should be empowered and instructed to command the attendance of competent engineers to give evidence when con,ducting inquiries in reference to these disasters. This would render unnecessary any government action, which might prove an interference with the freedom of the steam user, but to which he will inevitably have to submit if he does not mend his ways.
Road Watering. -All lovers of fair play will be glad to hear that Mr. Cooper’s system of laying the dust by means of a solution of certain salts, is now in full and successful operation in Liverpool, with the cordial cooperation of the local authorities. !l!hanks to the inefficient supervision exercised by the Marylebone vestry, over the ignorant and interested servants whom they appointed overseers during Mr. Cooper’s contract, and the consequent persecution and pecuniary loss to which that gentleman was subjected, there will be little chance of improvement for our metropolitan roads just at present. In Liverpool it is found that 75 per cent. of the work of water distribution is saved, but probably the most interesting fact elicited is that in streets watered on Mr. Cooper’s system, sweeping may be practically dispensed with, This is a result worth noting.