Terrific Colliery Boiler Explosion at Harthill

TERRIFIC COLLIERY BOILER EXPLOSION AT HARTHILL

SEVERAL MEN INJURED
A boiler explosion which occurred at the Balbakie Pit of the Coltness Iron Company on Wednesday evening has, though happily unattended with loss life, caused great destruction to property, besides entailing hardship on a large number of workpeople

With a view to proper understanding of accident it is necessary explain that the buildings at Balbakie pit-head formed, roughly speaking of square. On the north were the usual over-head winding gear partly enclosed with wooden framework, and the pumping-engine house brick building fifty feet in height enclosing a beam-engine with 84-inch cylinder. The east side of square was formed by a scaffolding on which the hutches containing the ironstone were conveyed to hearths where the ore was calcined. Parallel with the scaffolding there ran an embankment on which a line of rails for loading of railway trucks. One side were west side were the winding engine house 33 feet long and 22 wide built of brick also a smithy office 40 feet by 30. At the north end of this hollow square were placed the furnaces with boilers ten in number for raising steam to drive the pumping and winding engines. These boilers were in brick and lay east and west, with a shed or bothy at north-east corner where the firemen found shelter

When the works in full operation the workmen engaged at the pithead were Andrew Ballantyne who attended to the pumping engine; Alexander Finlay the winding engine keeper, John Mathieson aged 18; and Peter Mathieson aged 15 ½ firemen; and a numerous staff of calciners, overheadsmen &c. Ironstone miners generally knock off between three and half-past four and on Wednesday afternoon nearly all the had come up the shaft and gone home. About half-past five, Ballantyne, Finlay, and the Mathiesons walked over the boilers to fireman’s bothy, and then, it is said, there was every indication from of the ‘floats’ that the boilers were charged with a full supply of water. The pressure indicated the gauges was about 43 lb - the ordinary when both pumping and winding engines at were work being between 45 lb and 46 lb. At twenty minutes to six Ballantyne a roadsman named John Walker left the bothy pumping engine-room, re-crossing in their way the boilers which still appeared be perfect order. On their leaving the fireman’s shed Finlay and Mathieson sat down to play a game of draughts. They heard Peter Mathieson say that pressure the gauge had fallen to 43lb. he would fire the boilers, to which Finlay answered that there was plenty of steam as some was escaping from the safety valves. On reaching the pumping engine-house door, Walker started homewards to Harthill and Ballantyne remained standing in the doorway of house. A few minutes afterwards the explosion occurred; Ballantyne describing it as something like earthquake, which to make the earth heave.

The first explosion was immediately followed by two minor ones and simultaneously there came the crash of falling buildings and shattered timbers, Walker rejoined Ballantyne and the two ran round to the fireman’s bothy look after their three companions. Everything was as yet obscured by clouds of but in the course of a few minutes these began to clear off Ballantyne and Walker commenced the search for Finlay the two Mathiesons. John Mathieson was found lying on the railway embankment below the scaffolding with his legs broken; and Peter was discovered immediately afterwards embedded among fallen bricks and lime with only his legs sticking out. By the time a large number of men from the neighbouring pits had their in hot haste to Balbakie and assisted the search for Finlay and in digging young Mathieson. The later was rescued in a few minutes and faint cries of Finlay presently led workmen to point where the bothy had stood but which now partially overshadowed by north most boiler moved out of its bed by the explosion. In a quarter of an hour Findlay was rescued, and was attended to by Dr.Clark and Dr.MacGill been attracted to Balbakie by the noise of the explosion.

Anxiety about the men having been so far set at rest, the attention of the workmen were directed to the effects of the explosion. A more complete wreck it would be impossible to imagine. Of the ten boilers six had exploded, tearing up their brick bedding, destroying the furnaces demolishing the winding engine-house, the smithy and office on the west side, as well as the fireman’s bothy and a large part of the scaffolding above the railway embankment on the east four. The four boilers which had not exploded, being those nearest the north end of the row were lifted from their beds and driven several feet towards the shaft of the pit. A coating of dust and ashes covered everything for a distance of 400 yards on each side; and the snow which still lay on the ground ploughed up by innumerable bricks many which had been hurled up to 500 yards. Although the boilers measured each 35 ft long and a diameter of 5 ½ feet, and weighed about five tons, some search was necessary to find the fragments in the mist which prevailed at the time. Judging from the ruins it would seem that in the first explosion four boilers had burst simultaneously, the other two subsequently giving way at intervals to be measured by seconds. Fortunately the boilers in bursting appeared to have yielded in each in direction in which the ends had pointed namely east and west. On the east side, a fragment about eight foot long had struck four wagons standing on the embankment, smashed these to matchwood, and then sunk into embankment. Other portions crashed through about forty feet of the scaffolding which carried the hutch tramway. Two hundred fifty yards from the pit, a mass 12 feet long weighing 35cwt struck the face of hill and then bounded 25 yards before burying the open-jagged end in the mossy ground. Another piece evidently from the centre of a boiler was driven like a wedge into the ground leaving only knife-like edge in air. About 150 yards north of this spot half a boiler weighing over two tons had fallen on the open end, producing circular hole and then tipped over on its broadside.

Plates were strewn about, only observable above the ground by their sharp edges. Twenty yards off another piece of boiler struck the ground at an angle and after digging a hole six feet deep had split, the greater portion rolling several yards further. Nearer the pit, on the brow of knoll, was another half 18 feet long and it was evident that it had travelled 30 yards after first touching the ground. On the west side one fragment and had crushed the smithy and rested on the anvils. A second had only travelled few yards but was flattened like pasteboard. Sixty yards off were the remains of a boiler which to been rolled out flat - the lower end embedded in ground and a jagged end of 17 feet projecting. At 230 yards from the pit there were two halves with the open ends pressed together each having ploughed a track through the moor for 30 yards Still another, 18 feet long, had entered the face of a bank to the depth of 10 feet. Broken plates and ‘domes” were scattered in all directions The large smoke stack about 80 feet high was also demolished but owing to the direction taken by the fragments, the pit-head frame and pumping engine-house escaped - the only damage to the frame being the breaking of one the stays and to engine house the smashing in of the windows. The winding engine with double 24-inch cylinders was dismantled but not greatly injured, though the house completely wrecked. The engine seat consisting of wood caught fire but was extinguished with help of workmen. The winding-gear also escaped material injury.

With the supply of steam gone, communication with the workings below was cut off but those who still remained in the galleries found their way up the dip to Polkemmet pit through a passage only two and-a-half feet high and reached the surface in safety The explosion naturally caused consternation in the mining villages of Harthill and East Benhar – the house of which though a mile off were shaken. The people rushed out of doors and made their way to Balbakie where they assisted in clearing away the wreckage.

On Thursday the scene of the explosion was visited by many hundreds of miners from neighbouring collieries, and the men, numbering nearly 200, who have been thrown out out work by the untoward event, also hung about the locality. In course of the forenoon some of the Balbakie men were set to work to restore order to the chaotic mass of tumbled bricks, twisted iron and broken pipes; but about noon they were ordered to stop until an official investigation had been made into the cause of the explosion. Mr. Ralph Moore inspector of mines visited the scene of the accident yesterday Mr Lawrence Hill inspector for boilers for Scotland made an inspection of the boilers and the fragments scattered around with view of reporting on the cause of the accident The brothers Mathieson were conveyed on Wednesday to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and are favourably progressing. John had one of his legs broken and both are much burned by red-hot bricks and steam Finlay was also burned and much cut about the head and was carried to his mother’s cottage in Harthill and attended by Drs. Clark and Macgill.

The only other causality reported happened to a miner named Peter Woods who was returning from his work at No.6 West Benhar pit to Benhar village. Being on the road about 130 yards from Balbakie when the explosion happened, he was struck by a brick which broke his bone and caused a very deep and severe wound between shoulders He able to walk home but was very low on Thursday evening. The cause of the explosion has even been guessed at. as it is stated that the pressure of steam indicated by the gauges immediately before accident was from two to three pounds below the usual working pressure. It is said that none of boilers which exploded were over four years old. Two were made in Kilmarnock two in Glasgow, and two in Motherwell.

West Lothian Courier, 22nd March 1879