NORTHAMPTON MERCURY 14TH SEPTEMBER, 1861

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT IN A TUNNEL ON THE GRAND JUNCTION CANAL

TWO MEN KILLED AND THREE INJURED

On Friday evening last an accident of a most frightful nature took place in the tunnel on the Grand Junction Canal between Blisworth and Stoke Bruerne, in this county , onboard a steam-propelled barge, in which a carpenter, who had been working in the tunnel, and a boatman who was steering, lost their lives. At the same time two engineers and another boatman were nearly suffocated and severely burned.

Before entering upon the details of the awful catastrophe, it will be necessary briefly to explain the position and circumstances of that portion of the canal which runs between the villages of Blisworth and Stoke Bruerne. For some months past several of the boats on the Grand Junction Canal have been propelled by steam instead of being drawn by horses, and with proper adaptations of the tunnels, &c., there is no doubt that the difficulties hitherto experienced in navigating canals with steamboats are in a fair way of being overcome. There are several Tunnels on the canal, one of them being under Primrose Hill, near London, and another , the one in which the melancholy occurrence which we are about to detail, took place. The tunnel at Blisworth is elliptical in form, the water filling one half of the ellipsis. There is no towing path through the tunnel, and consequently horse power is not available. Previous to the introduction of steam the boats were propelled by a process called “legging”. The process is this: a board is placed out on either side of the boat, and on each boat (sic) lies a man who places his feet against the wall of the tunnel, and thus pushes the boat along. This system still prevails on boats to which the steam engine has not yet been applied, and as the labour of thus “legging” the boat along is both arduous and disagreeable, the steam engine is welcomed as a very agreeable substitute. The engine, however , is not without its disadvantages, for, as the tunnels are long, and no larger than sewers, the boatmen are half-stifled by the volumes of carbon that are emitted from the low funnel; coal being burnt instead of coke. The only means of ventilation in the tunnel is a shaft, which is placed at three-quarters of a mile distant from the Blisworth end of the tunnel. The tunnel is 3,000 yards, or nearly 1¾ miles in length. The shaft is covered at the top with a wooden erection very similar to a hut, and is close to the road leading from Blisworth to Stoke Bruerne. It may be easily imagined , that with the shaft closed up, a tunnel of so great a length and through which boats were compelled to travel a so slow a rate, would require a long time to clear itself of the large quantity of smoke which the boats emitted, particularly when, as on the evening of the accident, five boats, two of them being steam-boats, were passing through the tunnel at one time. Until very recently, all the boats on the canal were towed by horses. On arriving at the mouth of the tunnel the horses are detached, and sent on above ground to the other end of the tunnel, where they are again attached to the barges. The Grand Junction Canal Company have , however, within the past few months, made an important alteration in the mode of working their barges, so as to dispense with the services of these “leggers”. Last November they started one barge, called the Pioneer, fitted with a small screw propeller. Since that time they have fitted other boats with a similar apparatus, which is said to answer very well, and be extremely economical. The machinery is very compact and occupies the space of only a few feet in the stern of the vessel. It just clears away the little cabin, which is always to be found in those boats which are drawn by horses. The rudder is smaller than usual, and beneath it is placed the screw.

On Friday evening last one of the Grand Junction Canal Company’s barges, called the “Bee”, which was fitted with one of these screws, was on a return journey from Birmingham to London, having on board two engineers, named Gower and Jones, and two boatmen, named Broadbent and Chambers, who were engaged in steering. In each department the men took alternate turns, each turn lasting several hours. The “Bee” had another boat, not fitted with a screw propeller, and in technical language termed a “haul-boat”, which it was towing. It is not however stated who were on board this second boat which providentially became loosed from the steam boat, or there can be no doubt that the loss of life would have been much greater. The “Bee” was passing through the tunnel at about the rate of three miles per hour, and stopped at a place called a “stanks”, which is a number of piles driven in to afford a standing place for some workmen who were engaged in repairing the tunnel. Here they took in a carpenter named Edward Webb, who lived at Stoke Bruerne. He had been working in the tunnel since Tuesday morning, and left, we understand, rather earlier for the purpose of returning home to sharpen his tools, for which carpenters generally have a small allowance of time. He got on board the “Bee” and directed the engineer how to proceed, in order that neither of the boats might damage the “stanks”, in going by. They proceeded on their way and soon afterwards met in the tunnel with two other boats, which were being worked by “leggers”. They became entangled, but in about ten minutes were set free. The boat which the steamer was towing was, however , loosed from it, and was left behind. There can be no doubt that at this time the men on board the steam-boat were becoming insensible, for one of the “leggers” states that although he called out several times as loudly as he could he received no answer. This man who was at work on board the boat belonging to Mr Fellowes, described the smoke as being so thick that he could see neither boats, the men on board them, nor the lights which they usually carry both in front and in the engine-room; he was only aware that there were two boats in the tunnel by coming into contact with the rope by which they were connected, and it was as much as he could do to save his own life. Had he been aware of the state of the men on board the steamboat, it would have been impossible for him or the man on board his boat to have rendered them any assistance. Following the two boats which were worked by “leggers” was another steamboat, so that at this time there were five boats, two of then being steamers, in the tunnel. The consequence was a great accumulation of coalsmoke. Its effect on the men on board the “Bee” was fatal to two of them, and caused the others to receive frightful injuries. Webb, the carpenter, who had been taken on at the “stanks”, had not been on board more than a few minutes before he fell senseless against a boatman named John Chambers, who was sleeping in his berth. This awoke Chambers, who found Webb moaning and plunging about, but unable to speak, and there is every reason to believe that in a few minutes more the unfortunate man had ceased to breathe. The other boatman, Broadbent was steering; he too, must have become insensible, and in his dying moments tumbled into the water, from which he was not rescued until some hours afterwards, when two gangs of men were dragging the tunnel for his corpse. Chambers, on being awakened by Webb’s falling, found out that one of the engineers was lying in the stoke-hole, and apparently unable to move; he called to the other engineer who was on board, and who, in attempting to rescue his companion, also fell down insensible. These two men must have been lying for a considerable time, being burnt by the fire and the boiler before they were rescued. The only wonder can be how any of them escaped with life. Chambers became so overpowered that on arriving at the mouth of the tunnel he, too, fell overboard; the water, however, restored him to partial consciousness, and he managed to climb on board the boat again , and instinctively shut off the steam. The boat could only proceed a short distance, and on arriving at the lock the awful catastrophe was at once revealed. The young carpenter was lying dead in the hold, one of the boatmen were missing, and the two engine men were lying near the furnace, awfully burned. They were at once removed to the Boat Inn, adjoining the lock, and medical men were immediately sent for.

Mr Knott, jun., of Blisworth, and Mr Watkins, of Towcester, were soon in attendance. They attended to the sufferers, who were now progressing favourably, though it will be as long time before they are again fit for work.

The following is a list of the killed and injured:-
DEAD:– William Webb, carpenter, of Stoke Bruerne. Edward Broadbent, boatman, of Braunston, residing at Birmingham.
INJURED:- Joseph Jones, engine driver, severely burned. William Gower, engine driver, severely burned. John Chambers, boatman, of Warwick, injured by immersion and partial suffocation.

Webb was only married this summer. The other man, Broadbent, has left a widow and eight children, the youngest having only been born on the 1st inst.

On Monday afternoon, P. E. Hicks, Esq., the county coroner, held an inquest on the bodies of William Webb and Edward Broadbent. The latter was lying at the Boat Inn, adjoining the locks, but Webb had been removed to his own house, about a couple of hundred yards further along the canal. The jury were sworn in the parlour of a cottage adjoining the inn; they thence proceeded to view the bodies, and the inquest was then adjourned to the school-room of the village, the number of persons attending the inquest requiring more extensive accommodation than the inn could afford.

Mr. Anderson, the chairman of the Grand Junction Canal Company, attended the inquest, accompanied by Mr. Rogers, the secretary, Mr. Fulton, the traffic manager and Mr. Lake the engineer of the company. Mr. Cherry, the manager of the company at Blisworth, was also present. Mr. A. B. Markham attended to watch the case on behalf of the company; Mr. R Howes attended on behalf of the relatives of the deceased men.

Joseph Wickens examined: I am a “legger” in the tunnel at Blisworth, and live at Stoke Bruerne. I knew the deceased Wm. Webb. He was a carpenter, and in the employ of the company. I do not know his age. I also knew Broadbent. He also was in the company’s service. On Friday evening last, while I was “legging” in the tunnel, I met the boat on board of which were the deceased men. I was on board a boat belonging to Mr Fellowes. This was in the afternoon, between five and six o’clock. The boat I was in was proceeding from Stoke Bruerne to Blisworth. I met the steamer, but the smoke was so strong I could not see any body in it. This was between No 12 and No 13 – the distances marked in the tunnel. The steamer was coming towards Stoke Bruerne. The steamer was proceeding along one side of the tunnel, and a boat which it was hauling was coming along the other side of the tunnel. The rope extending between the boats got entangled with my boat. The rope pulled our “wings” down, and made me and the other men aboard the boat get to the back of the mast or “bulk”. I saw nobody on board the boats during the whole time. I halloaed as loud as I could, but nobody answered me.
Mr Savage (foreman of the jury): How did you get disentangled?
Witness: Nobody ever spoke, but someone had strength enough to loose the rope.
Mr Savage: Which boat was he in the steam boat or the haulboat?.
Witness: The haulboat.
Coroner: Did you know who it was?
Witness: No; I heard nobody speak, but someone unloosed the rope, or it would have taken us back to Stoke Bruerne if it had kept fast.
Mr Savage: Did you find any effect on yourself from the smoke?
Witness: Yes, we could not get on with our work until we were getting towards Blisworth, when the smoke cleared off. We sat down on the deck until the wind had blown the smoke by.
Mr Savage: Does the wind have any effect upon the smoke in the tunnel?
Witness: It is according to which way the wind is.
Mr Savage: You said after the boat had passed you the smoke from it had such an effect upon you that you were obliged to lie down on the deck until such time as the wind had blown the smoke away?
Witness: Yes
Mr Savage: Was the wind in such a position that it would be likely to affect the steamboat coming towards this end?
Witness: Yes, it blew from Blisworth to Stoke Bruerne.
Mr Savage: The same way that the steamboat was coming?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Savage: Have you on any previous occasion met steamboats running through the tunnel when there has been a lot of boats in the tunnel or has it been a heavy murky day?
Witness: It is in this way. When the wind blows it will clear in time, but if there is a side wind the smoke will remain there.
Mr Savage: Yes, but have you ever felt the effect of the smoke in the tunnel previously when steamboats have been running through?
Witness: Yes, a good many times, but I never felt anything so bad as that.
The Coroner: Are there any shafts or ventilators?
Witness: There is one shaft between 18 and 19, rather above half way through. No 15 is about the middle.
Mr Savage: It is about three-fifths of the whole distance from one end.
Mr Markham: How many numbers are there?
Mr Savage: Thirty and they are each at one hundred yards distance.
A witness who was in attendance, here said that the shaft was 1760 yards, or just a mile from the Stoke Bruerne end of the tunnel
Mr Savage (to the witness): Were you aware that another steam boat was following you into the tunnel?
Witness: Yes
Mr Savage: Whereabouts did that boat overtake you – previously to your meeting with this steamboat that was coming from Blisworth, or after you had passed it?
Witness: That boat caught up with us after we had passed the one which was coming from Blisworth.
Coroner: Where did that overtake you?
Witness: The one which was following us caught us about the middle of the tunnel. But I could not tell justly for the smoke.
Mr Savage: Would the additional smoke caused by the steamboat affect the men who were working in the boat that was coming this way?
Witness: I don’t know. It would not do them any good, because the wind kept blowing it towards them all the while.
Mr Savage: Then there would be an additional quantity of smoke in the tunnel, which these men would have to work through?
Witness: Yes
Mr Savage: Would the wind keep that smoke upon them?
Witness: Yes
Mr Savage: When there has been but one steamboat in the tunnel at a time, have you ever felt any effect from the smoke?
Witness: Well it is very bad until it gets blown away.
Mr Savage: But is it worse than before the steam-boats commenced running?
Witness: Yes
Mr Savage: You expect that the steam boat which followed you was about 200 yards behind you when you met this steam-boat?
Witness: Yes I dare say it was somewhere about that.
Mr Howes: You said you were entangled in the tunnel: how long were you delayed through that?
Witness: It might be about ten minutes we were in the scuffle.
By Mr A. B. Markham: I am a “legger”. I get my living entirely by that.
Coroner: Which boats? The company’s boats or other boats?
Witness: By the boats that do not belong to the company.
By Mr Markham: If all the boats were propelled, they would not require my services. My business as a “legger” would cease as a matter of course. I cannot tell whether there was any light attached to either of the boats I met; I never saw a light. The smoke was that strong we could not see the light on our own deck, and we had one there. There was much smoke or sulphur. I could see the first boat but not the last. I do not know whether the first boat was more free from smoke than the last. I never did see the last boat at all. .
Mr Markham: Did the wind go faster than the steam-boat in the tunnel, or not so fast?
Witness: I expect it went about as fast as they did, or near enough, because afterwards we got a little better as the wind blew it by us. When these boats met us, the men on board my boat said “What must be done?” I said, “Shout as loud as you can, and tell the other to keep inside.” We had no time to look after lights; we had to look after our own lives; we were close to the water on the gunwale of the boat. Somebody in the boat that was being towed halloaed out that the first boat had let them go, as the rope was parted, but they got no answer. I called out to them to loose the rope. There were two or three there, and one had strength enough to loose the rope.
Coroner: But you did not see them?
Witness: No but they said so they got to this end. After I got over again, one said, “It was me that loosed the rope” I said I was very glad he did.
By Mr Markham: I don’t know whether the steamer would have broke the rope; if it had not, and the rope had not been loosed, it would have pulled us back. I cannot tell you whether the smoke blew most round the steamer or the boat that followed it. I was as close to the water as I could get. After the steamer had been gone by a little while, the tunnel began to get clear, and we recovered a little. The steamboat was proceeding at a regular pace, so far as we could guess. So far as I know, when I met them, there was nothing amiss, only that nobody ever spoke in the steamer. The two steam-boats must have met between Nos. 17 and 11 and Nos. 11 and 13.
Mr Markham: How far is that from the shaft?
Mr Savage: About 750 yards.
Coroner: Do you know whether the shaft was open or closed?
Witness: It was just as it has ever been.
Coroner: How is that?
Witness: You can just see daylight through if you look up in day time: you can just see light, that is all.
Coroner: But you do not know whether it is open or not?
Witness: I don’t.
Mr Markham: Supposing one steamboat went through the tunnel, how long would it be before the tunnel is clear?
Witness: It is according to the wind; if it was a side wind, it might take all day.
Mr Markham: But that day?
Witness: Very likely one hour or a couple: sometimes there is more wind than at others.
Coroner: It would depend on the atmosphere as well. (To the witness). Have you ever been at the top of the shaft?
Witness: Yes there are some boards nailed over the top like a little hut.
Coroner: Then it is not quite open at the top?
Witness: No, sir.
This being the end of the evidence of this witness, the coroner and jury, accompanied by the solicitors and the officers of the company, proceeded to the little parlour of the Boat Inn, where the two injured men, Gower and Jones, the engineers, were lying on beds, which were made upon the floor. They were unable to rise from their recumbent position, and one of them Gower, was unable to raise the Bible to his lips when he was sworn, owing to the extensive burns on his hands, which he received when lying insensible in the stoke-hole on board the steam-boat. They were both stalwart, powerful, middle-aged men.
William Gower examined: I was the second driver in a steam-boat belonging to the Grand Junction Canal Company. I was at work on board on Friday afternoon. I was driving, and at that time I had the care of the boat.
Coroner: Where were you driving from?
Mr Anderson: Where did your “turn” begin?
Witness: At Long Buckby.
Coroner: Where would your turn have ended?
Witness: Here, sir.
Coroner: Now did your engine work properly till you got to the tunnel?
Witness: No, sir.
Mr Anderson: When you got on at Buckby, how was it?
Witness: She was at work right enough till we got up to Blisworth station.
Mr Anderson: And then she got short of steam.
This question from the Chairman of the Company called forth a remark from the Coroner as to his asking questions of the witnesses, but Mr Anderson said he was not there to impede the inquiry, but to give them every facility.
Coroner: When you got to Blisworth station, how then?
Witness: I cleared the fire out when I found “her” (the engine) getting bad.
Coroner: What state was she in when you had cleared it out? Was she foul at all?
Witness: The flues were foul.
Coroner: But more than if she had been properly cleaned at Birmingham, or wherever she came from?
Witness: She was not cleaned at Birmingham.
Coroner: But did you know yourself where she was cleaned?
Witness: At London.
The Chairman of the Company here said that the widow and children of the deceased Broadbent would be taken care of by the company, who wished to inquire into this accident, and, if possible to prevent it for the future. They might depend on it that the survivors would not suffer, action or no action: they were not there to get out of that, depend upon it.
Mr Savage: I am very glad to hear it.
Coroner (to witness): Then you cleaned her out and got the fire up?
Witness: I pulled the clinkers out, and got a nice fire up again.
Coroner: Then you left Blisworth afterwards?
Witness: We did not stop at Blisworth; we went gently all the time, lowering the steam. We had 30lbs on.
Coroner: Did you get plenty of steam up?
Witness: No, we were obliged to stop for steam before we got to the tunnel.
Coroner: Why were you obliged to do that?
Witness: Because we had not got sufficient steam to take us through without firing up in the tunnel.
Coroner: What do you mean by “firing up in the tunnel”?
Witness: Putting fresh coal on.
Coroner: Have you any particular instructions about firing up in the tunnel?
Witness: I never saw any; I never had any.
Coroner: What made you put it out then?
Witness: We did not put it out; we had a nice clear fire.
Mr Markham: But what made you stop to accumulate the steam?
Witness: My mate (Jones) came out and stopped the engine.
Coroner: Then did Jones take charge of the boat?
Witness: Yes, he took charge of the driving then.
Coroner: Now did you perceive any larger quantity of smoke going through the tunnel on Friday than at other times?
Witness: After we had got by the “stanks”.
Mr Anderson: That is where they are doing some repairs in the tunnel.
Coroner: What then?
Witness: When I got up to the “stanks” I saw a man on the side of the boat. I was in the forepart of the boat, telling the steerer which way to go. He said, “Bill, come back and attend to the engine. I feel rather sick.” Jones said that. I went back, and did not go down the fire-hole, but went in the bottom of the boat. I saw a man standing on the side. I went to shoot a little coal down behind the boiler, and while shooting it down I came over so queer, and I fell down. I never recollect anything afterwards.
Mr Anderson explained that the witness, in speaking of what he was doing, alluded to the coal bunker. The coals were round the boiler, and in order to get them to the stoke hole, the men had to push them down to the mouth of the furnace.
Mr Fulton: Were you there for the purpose of putting any coal on?
Witness: I was going to put a little bit on, but I could not do so.
Mr Savage: Did you put any on in the tunnel?
Witness: No sir.
Mr Markham: What number is the “stanks”
Mr Savage: 1900 yards from this end. But he is under a wrong impression. They did not fall in this way until they got half way between the “stanks” and this end, which will be proved afterwards.
Mr Markham: How many times have you been through the tunnel?
Witness: I think ten times – up and down.
Mr Markham: Have you ever experienced similar sensations before?
Witness: Yes, in a railway tunnel, I have.
Mr Markham: But in this tunnel?
Witness: Yes, once before.
Mr Markham: When was that?
Witness: About three weeks ago.
Coroner: Did you become insensible that time?
Witness: No, not so bad as this time.
Mr Markham: You felt sick?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Howes: Had you met a boat in a similar way before?
Mr Markham: What sort of coal do you use on board the steam-boats? Is it coal, or coke, or slack?
Witness: I don’t know the name; it’s coal, not coke.
Mr Anderson: It’s “broach” coal, from the south of Staffordshire.
Mr Markham: It’s similar coal to that used on the railways?
Witness: No.
Mr Markham: But you have experienced similar sensations in railway tunnels?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Markham; Can you give us any explanation of what you attribute your sickness to?
Witness: No, I cannot, because I was gone in an instant. I fell down directly.
Mr Anderson: You did not feel anything coming? No giddiness?
Witness: No I fell right down.
Mr Savage: Did you know repairs were going on inside the tunnel?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Savage: Are you aware that Webb got on the boat while you were passing there?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Savage: Had you any conversation with him after he got on the boat.
Witness: No.
Mr Savage: How far did you come after he got upon the boat up to the last time you saw him on the boat?
Witness: Two or three yards.
Coroner: You had not fallen down insensible?
Witness: No sir.
Mr Savage: Do you recollect meeting the company’s steam-boat, the “Wasp”?
Witness: No, I do not.
Mr Savage: Jones perfectly recollects that.
Mr Howes: When you felt these sensations before, did you meet a steam-boat in the same way, or was yours the only steam-boat ?
Witness: Mine was the only one that I was aware of.
Mr Howes: Did you put any coals on the fire just before you went into the tunnel?
Witness: I did not put any on.
Mr Howes: Did you know of any coals being put on?
Witness: I never saw any.
Mr Howes: Do you know the regulations about cleaning the engines? What is the usual course?
Mr Anderson: He came from Long Buckby.
Mr Howes: Was the engine cleaned at Birmingham?
Witness: The flues were not clean.
Mr Howes: Is it the usual course for the company’s boats to have the flues cleaned at Birmingham?
Witness: No, at London.
Jones: They are always properly cleaned in London.
Mr Howes: About Webb; how was it that Webb got on the boat? Was he working in the tunnel at the time as a carpenter?
Witness: I believe so.
Mr Howes: Was the company’s agent there at the time?
Witness: Not that I know of.
Mr Howes: You did not hear anything said to Webb.
Witness: No
Mr Howes: And you know nothing further?
Witness: No
Mr Savage: You stated that you were not aware of what was the cause of your becoming in a state of insensibility: could you attribute it to anything?
Witness: To sulphur
Mr Savage: What caused the sulphur.
Witness: The coal, no doubt.
Mr Anderson: There must have been a particular vein of sulphur in the coal.

Joseph Jones examined;
I am an engine driver in the employ of the Grand Junction Canal Company. On Friday afternoon last, I had care of the boat, which I stopped before we got to the tunnel to see if the fire was in proper order and the steam ready to go into the tunnel. I had been in charge of the boat from Itchington (near Rugby).
Mr Anderson: He is the chief engineer; but he must rest, and therefore has another engineer under his command.
Examination continued: The boat was coming back from Birmingham. I had been with her from Birmingham to London, and was bringing her back again. I brought the boat away from London a week last Saturday night (August 31st). I arrived at Birmingham on Wednesday evening. We were delayed on the road.
Mr Anderson: What caused the delay?
Witness: The helm was out of order.
Mr Anderson; I recollect; you were delayed at Knowle, or else you were due at Birmingham on Tuesday evening.
Coroner: Did you examine the engine before starting from London?
Witness: I did; I had the men at work at her, and she was all right before we started out.
Mr Anderson: There is a fireman and a man in charge of the boat who can give you evidence to that effect. In London we have a shop of engineers to assist these men in their duties. If there is anything wrong, they are assisted by the men up there. There happens to be one man here who can give evidence that she was in a proper state when she left:
Coroner: Then you examined her at Birmingham?
Witness: Both at Birmingham and London.
Coroner: Tell me the state she was in till you got up to the tunnel.
Witness: She worked as well as any engine in the world until my mate got in. Then she rather got short of steam. I suppose she was dirty. The fire at the back had got rather clinkered. I did not suppose she had got steam enough. When we got to Blisworth, I again took charge of her at the request of Jones (sic). That was at the Blisworth end of the tunnel. We had plenty of steam to go through the tunnel. They stopped us in the tunnel, at the “stanks”, so as to go by steady.
Mr Markham – Who stopped you at the “stanks”?
Witness: Some man there; I don’t know who he was.
Mr Markham: Was it Webb?
Witness: No.
Mr Anderson: It was an agent of the company
Mr Markham: Were you completely stopped at the “stanks”?
Witness: The steam was shut off. Webb got in there.
Mr Markham: What did he tell you?
Witness: He gave me instructions how to go on till the boats got by, and then told me to start again.
Mr Markham. What did he say ?
Witness: He told me to shut off the steam; and then when he wanted me to go on again, he told me to put the steam on gently.
Mr Savage: That was because you should not flush over the “stanks”, I suppose?
Witness: Just so.
Coroner: Did you shut it off , and then put it on again?
Witness: Yes, I shut it off and put it on again.
Coroner: Did you become insensible?
Witness: After then I did.
Coroner: Tell the jury.
Witness: When Webb gave me instructions how to go on after passing the “stanks” we went on as usual. After then we met two boats, neither of which was a steamboat. I felt very giddy before we met the steamboat called the “Wasp”.
Coroner: Did you know it was the “Wasp”?
Witness: Yes
Coroner: Did she pass you?
Witness: Oh yes, she passed me a long time before I fell down.
Coroner: Was there more smoke than usual in the tunnel?
Witness: Well, I have seen as much smoke in the tunnel as there was then, quite as much or more.
Coroner: Where was Broadbent, was he in the boat?
Witness: Yes , he was steering our boat.
Coroner: Was he steering when you became insensible or did he become insensible before you?
Witness: I don’t know anything about him.
Coroner: What was the name of your boat?
Witness: The “Bee”
Coroner: I suppose you know no more about it till you were taken out of the boat?
Witness: Oh yes I do. I felt rather giddy, and I called to my mate to come back, and he did so. He fell down in the fire-place, where the coal was.
Coroner: Whereabouts did you fall down?
Witness: I had lain down in the boat.
Mr Anderson: Were you in the engine-room till you called to your mate?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Anderson: And then you went into the place where you sleep?
Witness: Yes
Mr Anderson: Towards the fore part of the boat?
Witness: Yes
Mr Anderson: May I ask you another question? Did you smell anything from the coals?
Witness: Not that I am aware of.
Mr Anderson: Not at all; no particular blast like sulphur out of the coals?
Witness: Well it was rather black stuff, and hung round our lips a good deal.
Mr Anderson: Did you feel any inconvenience at any other time when there was more smoke than the other day?
Witness: I don’t know that I did, only it took more effect upon us.
Mr Anderson: This time? But you don’t know any reason why?
Witness: No
Coroner: But is not the engine-room shut up?
Mr Anderson: No, it is open, except just over the engine, to protect it from the weather.
Witness: The wind that day all set to the other end. Other boats were in the tunnel, and their smoke all took our end. It would not clear itself or go away.
Mr Anderson: In fact it all kept hovering about you.
Witness: Yes
Mr Anderson: But would that not affect the other boat?
Mr Savage: No because that boat had stopped behind.
Mr Markham: How long have you been in the company’s service?
Witness: Eight weeks
Mr Savage: This is a new concern; he has been on the railway.
Mr Markham: How long have you been accustomed to the management of engines?
Witness: Nine years.
Mr Markham: What portion of that time have you been upon railways?
Witness: I have never been on any railway except the London and North-Western.
Mr Markham: How long have you been on that?
Witness: Nine years and nine months.
Mr Markham: Engine driving and stoking?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Markham: Did you ever experience those sensations in Kilsby tunnel, or any other of the long tunnels?
Witness: Well, they are very bad on railroads, but you go through them more swiftly, and you are not in them so long.
Mr Markham: But you have experienced the same descriptions of sensations?
Witness: Yes
Mr Markham: When? When you were burning coal or coke?
Witness: It is immaterial which, but I think coke the worst.
Mr Markham: But you felt the same sensations when burning coke?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Markham: How many times have you been through this tunnel?
Witness: About sixteen.
Mr Markham: And you never felt it so bad before?
Witness: No.
Mr Markham: Have you felt anything approaching it?
Witness: Not the least whatever.
Mr Markham: In all those number of times you have never experienced anything like it.
Witness: No
Mr Markham: Were you conscious?
Witness: I must have been; I had hold of the regulation handle.
Mr Markham: Then the boat still proceeded?
Witness: Yes. Webb fell down in the boat, and he said, “There is a man in the fire-hole.” I got out of bed as well as I could, and tried to pick him up. I could not. I was in dread and fear about my boiler being burned. So I got out of bed and put the “feed” on. As I was coming out of the fire-hole, I had my foot on the step. I don’t remember anything more.
Mr Markham: Was the “Wasp” burning the same description of coal?
Witness: I don’t know.
Mr Markham: I (sic) could not have been worse.
Mr Anderson: Is it all the same sort of coal?
(Witness): We have been burning it for the last eight weeks.
Mr Howes: Had you another boat in tow?
Witness: Yes.
Mr Howes: Would that retard the speed of your boat in going through the tunnel?
Witness: Well, I don’t know. I have been through with a tow boat in about 35 minutes. We should go rather faster with an empty boat.
Mr Howes: Could you give me any idea what difference it would make?
Witness: Very little. I could go through with both in 40 minutes.
Mr Savage: Can you run 40 minutes without firing?
Witness: I can, but when I get one length from the tunnel I put one shovelful on.
Mr Savage: What is about your average rate of travelling per hour?
Witness: About three miles per hour.
Mr Savage: And what is your consumption of coal per hour?
Witness: I don’t know.
Mr Anderson: About five or seven tons during the voyage.
Mr Savage: That would be about one hundred weight per hour.
Witness: You can put one hundred weight on.
Mr Markham: Don’t you think you had put on more coal?
Witness: Decidedly; a man knows he is coming to a tunnel, and he ought to have his fire up.
Mr Markham: It was not so in this case; you stopped to accumulate heat.
Witness: It was as near as possible when she got to the tunnel. I only put one shovelful on afterwards.
Mr Markham: Don’t you think you must have got too much coal unconsumed before you got to the tunnel?
Witness: No, sir; there was plenty of fire to take her through; only the clinkers wanted fetching off the bars.
Mr Markham: Are there any particular orders?
Witness: We have orders not to put any coal on so as not to make any smoke.
Mr Markham: How was it in this case – there was a great deal of smoke?
Witness: There were other boats.
Mr Markham: But they were not the boats which made the smoke?
Witness: Well, they might; the smoke would be just about the same in a cabin boat.
Mr Markham: If you were going through again should you adopt the same practice with regard to putting the coal upon the fire, or should you not put on a little less?
Witness: Well, I should have the fire-box full.
Mr Markham: But should you not wait until it had burnt, so as to do away with the smoke?
Witness: Of course I should have all the smoke done away with. We had no dead coal in the box.
Mr Anderson: How far from the mouth did you fire up?
Witness: Against the wharf I put on three of four shovels full.
Mr Savage: Against Worster’s Wharf?
Witness: Yes
Mr Savage: But you stopped after that?
Witness: Yes, purposely, to let it burn clear.
Mr Anderson: They always have as little smoke as possible.
Mr Markham: But from what he says, Mr Anderson, there must have been a great deal.
Mr Howes: Did you not put in more than one shovelfull when Webb got in the boat?
Witness: No
Mr Markham: Had you a light upon your boat?
Witness: Yes, we had two lights upon our boats.
Mr Markham: Was there so much smoke that you could not see the lights?
Witness: You can always see the lights. I could see the engine lights in the other boat.
Coroner: What lights were they?
Witness: Signal lights.
Mr Anderson: A large oil lantern is placed in the front of the boat.
Mr Savage: Were you aware that you had left the haul boat behind?
Witness: No
Mr Markham: Could you see the two boats as you passed them?
Witness: Yes
Mr Anderson: Then you saw the men plainly enough?
Witness: Yes, I saw the “leggers”
Mr Markham: It was not so thick then but what you could see the boat?
Witness: You could see the boat anywhere.
Mr Howes: Did you see Mr Eden, the company’s agent, there?
Witness: No, I did not see any one but the men at work. I did not take notice of anyone. I saw Webb get on, and he gave me instructions how to pass.
The inquest then left the room and inspected the boat which was moored outside, on board of which the catastrophe took place. When they returned to the schoolroom, the enquiry was resumed.

John Chambers examined:
I am a boatman in the employ of the Grand Junction Canal Company, and live at Warwick. I was with the steamer last Friday. I had been steering her. Broadbent was steering through the tunnel. I did not see Broadbent in the tunnel. The last time I saw Broadbent alive was at Long Buckby. I was asleep in the hold at the bottom of the boat till Webb tumbled in upon me, and awakened me. He said “ There is one of the engine-drivers down and cannot get up” Jones ran out to pick him up. Webb, the carpenter began to cry and kick about. I asked him what was the matter with him, but he would not speak. Then I came out of the hold, and came abreast of the engine against the boiler, and stood there for three or four minutes, when it took me and I fell into the water in the tunnel. The water brought me to myself, and I swam and caught hold behind. I hung there a while. I shouted for Broadbent to come and pull me out. I thought he was inside the boat. I got inside the boat again just as it was coming out of the tunnel. I turned the steam off, and then came away from the boiler and went to the cabin, where I fell off to sleep. Some people came and dragged me out. I cannot recollect that any one gave me my cap, or told me to stop the engine.
Mr Phipps (a juryman): He had not been in the water in the tunnel.
Mr Watkins (surgeon): Can you recollect the paddle knocking against your legs?
Witness: Yes
Examination resumed:
I was tired from exertion, and went to sleep in the cabin. I don’t know who fetched me out. I did not see either Webb or Broadbent alive on board the boat. I only saw Jones. I saw Webb lying beside me before I fell over. The tunnel was full of smoke, but I have seen as much smoke in the tunnel on previous occasions.
John Sturges examined:
I am an agricultural labourer and live at Shutlanger. On Friday evening last I was driving some cows, the property of my master, Mr. Phipps, along the towing-path of the canal near to the tunnel. I saw the front of the boat going straight in amongst the mud and flags, and I called out “Hold on” but the boat was so full of smoke that I could not see anybody. I ran down to the tunnel end and I saw the driver hanging over the side of the boat. That man was Jones. I called out to him, but he did not move. I called out to him again as loud as I could. Then another young man who was along with the boat came out from underneath the cloth. I said to him, “Look here, this man is asleep or something.” He said, “He is not asleep, he’s very nearly killed with the smoke.” He was looking round to look at those men on the boiler. He said, “Here’s one lays down here in the hole very nearly dead, and there’s another just beyond the boiler.” I could see a man’s face in the boat near the bed. He said, “That man’s very nearly dead; he’s a stranger to me, but I believe he’s a company’s man.” I asked him if I should run and fetch somebody. He said “I think you’d better” I asked him whether I should go to the lock-keeper’s or for Mr Phipps. He said “Go to which is the nighest.” I then ran for Mr Phipps, and followed my master down. Before I went up to my master’s this young man fell into the cut. He “scrobbled” about and got out again. When I came back I gave this young man his cap. I never did see Webb or Broadbent. I saw the other three men lifted out.
Samuel Harris examined:
I live at Stoke Bruerne, and am a “legger” on the canal. On Friday night I went into the tunnel as one of a second lot to drag for the body of Broadbent. We dragged for him. We found him between Nos 9 and 10. I was legging in the second boat that met them that afternoon. I could not see for the smoke. I knew Broadbent was at the helm. I knew him well, and knew his voice. That was between Nos. 12 and 13. I knew Webb. I don’t know how long he had been at work in the tunnel.
Samuel Haydon: We went to work in the tunnel at a quarter to four on Tuesday morning.
Harris’s examination resumed:
The witness Wickens was in one boat, and I was in the other. I could not see whether there was a light on board the steamer. I hung over the side to keep out of the way of the rope. I have been a “legger” before these steamboats were in use. They have passed me several times while “legging.” I have never had anything happen when I was there before. I have been at work there since twelve month last Easter. I have never met with anything to cause me to fall down. The smoke has taken an effect on me , and felt disagreeable. Boats that are not worked by machinery have smoke. They are not so bad as those which have machinery. When there is a great smoke it is very unpleasant. I should think the steamer would have more smoke than four or five boats without machinery. It has happened before that boats have fouled while in the tunnel, but not while I have been there. The boat that was attached to the steamer was very far behind it, but I could not see how the foul happened.
William Tew examined:
I live at Stoke Bruerne, and am a shoemaker. On Friday evening I was near the canal, and went to the boat. I found Webb over the engine. I saw him got out directly. He appeared to me to be dead. I had known him previously. I do not know his age.
Mr Savage: He is about 40
Mr. William Parsons Knott examined:
I am an assistant to my father, who is a surgeon, at Blisworth. Last Friday evening a boy met me with a horse, and I came over here directly. I went first to the men who were injured, and saw to them. I next went to Webb’s house. I got there at half past seven o’clock, about three quarters of an hour after the accident happened. In my opinion death was occasioned by suffocation. There was great venous congestion, which is usual in such cases. On the following morning I saw the body of Broadbent. It had been in the water for some time. I believe he was first suffocated, and fell into the water afterwards.
Mr Robert Webb Watkins examined:
I am a surgeon, and reside at Towcester. I saw the body of Webb on Friday evening last, in the company of the last witness. I carefully examined the exterior of the body, and found the face, particularly the eyes and lips, very much congested. The whole of the surface of the body was congested with venous blood. There was no mark of violence on any part of the body. Having heard the previous evidence, I am decidedly of the opinion that he died from asphyxia. I also examined the body of Edward Broadbent on Saturday morning, and I found similar appearances to those on the body of William Webb. There was also a quantity of bloody sputa issuing from the mouth. I am of the opinion that he also died from asphyxia, and that it was produced by the coal smoke in the tunnel.
Coroner: You mean that they were suffocated.
Mr Watkins: No, a man may be suffocated owing to violence. In this case death took place from asphyxia owing to the exclusion of pure air, or rather of air sufficiently oxygenated to support life.
Mr Anderson: What, in your opinion prevented the other boats being served in the same way?
Witness: There was not the same quantity of smoke.
Mr Anderson: But they had a “butty” boat behind them. If the smoke was so thick in the steam-boat, why not in the boat behind them? It is in evidence that the smoke was so thick they could not see, but there appears to be a little variance as to that statement. Would not the people on board the slow boat be affected by the want of oxygen.
Witness: The smoke issuing from the furnace would take a considerable time to diffuse itself. Of course, where the boat was, there must have been a considerably larger quantity of smoke than in any other part. That would gradually diffuse itself in the course of the passage through the tunnel.. In five or ten minutes, I think they would have recovered, just as the boy who fell overboard did.. From an inquiry which I made, it appears that the light at the head of this particular boat was burning when the boat came out of the tunnel. The probability is that if the air had been foul it would have gone out. That proves there must have been much purer atmosphere at the head of the boat. I asked that question of one of the men before I came into the room.
But they have engine lamps. A coal we first tried contained so much sulphur that the men in the Regent’s Canal tunnel were affected by it. I want to know whether there was not a sufficient amount of sulphur in the coal which they had in the furnace at the time to account for this.
Witness: It is impossible, without a more definite knowledge than I have of the kind of smoke there to say whether it acted as an actual poison; but my opinion is that they died from the absence of air that would support life, and not from inhaling any poisonous matter.
Mr Anderson: But this sulphur would come out of the stoke-hole and affect the men in the rear of the boat.
Witness: But it appears that those in the hold were affected as much. These particular men would have been in a denser atmosphere of smoke all the way. Those who met them would pass through that dense atmosphere, and escape into an atmosphere that was somewhat purer in five or ten minutes,
Mr Markham: If a light would burn at the head of the boat, and life would not live where the engine-room was, in consequence of the absence of pure air, how was it that persons lived unaffected in the boat that was coming on behind?
Witness: There was not the same dense atmosphere.
Mr Markham: But they were in it all the time.
Witness: No, the boat was cast off, and did not come out of the tunnel until some time afterwards.
Mr Markham: I suppose life would live where a light would burn?
Witness: That is the general opinion.
Mr Anderson: We are anxious to get at the facts of this case. So many boats have passed through the tunnel that it is extraordinary to my mind that the smoke on this occasion should have produced such very unfortunate results.
Witness: I may say that the deceased were the two stoutest and fattest men in the company. The young fellow suffered comparatively little and was rallied by the water. The two men who are injured are thinner, not nearly so stout as the deceased. There would be a larger proportion of blood in the body, and they would therefore require a larger quantity of oxygen.
This was the whole of the evidence.
Mr Markham wanted to call Mr Anderson, the chairman of the Grand Junction Canal Company, to explain the rules with respect to the fires in tunnels, and the improbability of death taking place in the tunnel owing to the large number of men who had passed through.
The Coroner intimated that he thought this proceeding unnecessary, and proceeded to sum up to the jury. He said they now had to analyse the evidence in this case, and then to deliver their verdict upon the facts. Those facts were very few and simple. The medical evidence was very strong as to the real cause of death; there could be no doubt that it arose from asphyxia, or suffocation as it was more commonly termed, and which they all understood. If they believed that death arose from suffocation, there was an end to the question. So far as the company were concerned they would, no doubt, take eminent opinion as to whether the smoke could be condensed or got rid of in any way, but with that the jury had nothing to do. Of course, had there been any blame attached to the company, had the engine not been properly cleaned, that would have been a question as to their liability, but not in this court. The captain of the boat, however, had distinctly told them that he had examined the engines at London and Birmingham, and that they were clean and in good working order. All they had to do in their inquiry was to ascertain whether, as to the origin of the accident, there was any blame attaching to any person. It did not appear that there was, but this would seem to be one of those unfortunate occurrences which took place without their being able to account for them. Many other men had passed through the tunnel without meeting with such an unfortunate result. There might have been something in the coal, as the chairman of the company had told them that a description of the coal had been complained of in the Regent’s Canal tunnel, and consequently they immediately ceased using it. They had, no doubt, noticed the questions that were put to the last witness with a view of ascertaining whether there was any sulphur in the coal, so that they might not use the same sort again. If it had been proved that sulphur did arise from the coals, that would not have materially affected this inquiry. As all they had to decide upon was the cause of death, in which they must be guided by the medical testimony. All the other questions, though not relating to the issue, had been very properly put in this investigation. If the jury could suggest a means of getting rid of the means whereby the deceased died, of course the company would take it into their consideration; but, after all, it was partly an engineering question and partly a chemical one. If they were satisfied with the facts they would return a verdict accordingly.

The jury, after a few minutes’ deliberation, found that the deceased Edward Broadbent and William Webb met with an accidental death, and that it was caused by suffocation in the Blisworth tunnel. They strongly recommended to the consideration of the canal company the giving of more ventilation to the tunnel by sinking additional shafts in the shallowest places. The expense would not be very great, and the jury were of the opinion that anything that would act by itself would be much more efficient than any system which would require attention.

The Chairman (Mr Anderson) said that instructions had been given to the engineer before the accident happened to provide several additional shafts in the tunnel.

The inquiry then terminated. The injured men were removed to the Infirmary, at Northampton, the same night.

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