Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1891 — A Monon Locomotive Explodes. [ARTICLE]

A Monon Locomotive Explodes.

Hammond Tribune. —At exactly twenty two and one half minutes past eleven this morning as engine No. 91 was standing on the tracks at State Line waiting for orders her boiler exploded with terrific effect. The force of the concussion was so great that fireman Denny Conley, of Lafayette, Ind. —who was the only one on the engine, at the time—was blown a distance of 200 feet cr more over the Nickel Plate right of way into the bushes. Conley landed on his feet all right without any broken bones, but he is terribly’ scalded all along his left side; he walked pirt wav to town, and was.then assisted to the residence of Dr. E, C. Johnson, on Sibley street, who dressed his wounds as best he could. He will be taken to his home (Lafayette) tonight. The engine was lifted off the track like a toy and the grass around for a distance of 100 feet is all blown down. One piece of the engine weighing 406 or SQQ pounds was blown through a coal shed directly opposite the telegraph office. The engineer and telegraph operator together with two or three others were in the telegraph office at the time and were knocked off their feet. Pieces of the engine are scattered for several hundred feet from the scene of the wreck and for three or four hundred feet around about fires have been started from the live coals that were blown from the fire box. The wrecking train was on the scene shortly after the accident happened and sooq had the wreck cleared up. The engine has only been in service about one and one half years, and the engineer says when he left her about a minute before the explosion occured that the guage showed only the usual pressure of steam and he is unable to account for the boiler giving way. =*■ :=S _ = “Tt 7 : • ST-, ' 4 ‘ V