San Francisco During the Eventful Days of April 1906Stetson, James B. (James Burgess)
History
San Francisco During the Eventful Days of April 1906
Stetson, James B. (James Burgess)
San Francisco (Calif.) -- History; San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Calif., 1906
In the morning I went over to the California-Street engine-house, and
found it in ruins. Beams, pipes, iron columns, tie-rods, car-trucks, and
a tangled mass of iron-work; all that was not consumed of 32 cars,
bricks, mortar, ashes, and debris of every description filled the place.
The engine-room was hot, but I crawled into it through what was left of
the front stairway, which was nearly filled with loose bricks, and the
stone facings of the Hyde-Street front. It was a sad sight to me, for I
had something to do with it from its earliest existence. The form of
everything was there, but rods, cranks, beams, and pipes were bent and
burned, whether beyond hope of restoration I could not tell. No one was
there or on the street, and I came away with uncertain feelings. I had
hope, but whether the loss would be total or partial I could not say. A
further examination showed much damage--one shaft fourteen inches in
diameter was bent out of line one and one-quarter inches; one eight
inches in diameter, seven eighths of an inch; some of the large sheaves
badly twisted. A new cable coiled on a reel ready for use was so badly
burned in the portion exposed as to render the whole useless. As strange
as it may seem brass oilers and fillers on the engine-frames were
comparatively uninjured. The tank, encased in brick, contained 6,000
gallons of fuel oil, and with its contents was uninjured. The granite
blocks on which the engines and drivers rested were badly scaled and
cracked by the heat, and in some places entirely destroyed. The portions
of the cables in use that were in the engine-room were ruined, and on
the street were burned off in five different places. The prospect of
ever repairing and getting this machinery and appliances in operation
again seemed impossible. It was, however, restored, and started up
August 1, 1906.
At this time, about 8 A. M. Friday, I saw by the smoke that three large
fires were burning at North Beach, in the direction of the Union-Street
engine-house, from my house.
I afterwards walked down into the business part of the city. The streets
in many places were filled with debris--in some places on Kearny and
Montgomery streets to the depth of four feet in the middle of the street
and much greater depth on the sidewalk. The track and slot rail of the
California Street R. R. were badly bent and twisted in many places. The
pavement in numberless places was cracked and scaled. A very few people
were to be seen at that time among the ruins, which added much to the
general gloom of the situation. I found it then, and ever since, very
difficult to locate myself when wandering in the ruins and in the
rebuilt district, as all the old landmarks are gone and the only guide
often is a prominent ruin in the distance. As there were no cars running
in the burnt district, I found my automobile very useful although the
rough streets filled with all manner of debris, punctured the tires too
frequently.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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