Steam engine explosion in Ohio

[JunkmanIH660]

does anyone have any pics of that case that exploded in 2001

[smgussey]

Do a search for Medina...

This has all been covered, those that have pictures aren't sharing - it would be a slap in the face to those who lost their lives and were injured as a result of a terrible accident.

Hope I haven't stepped on too many toes...

[JunkmanIH660]

I didnt mean to stur in something I just wanted to see what failed.
Sorry

[David]

Here is a link to pictures of the failure areas on the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry web site.


http://www.dli.mn.gov/CCLD/BoilerIncidentsHobby1.asp


This has been a sore subject for a lot of people, for a lot of different reasons. There are plenty of other places on the internet that you can search that will provide more information.

David

[pegasuspinto]

The inspection of that presumably qualified person, concluded that the boiler had thinning of metal down to .085 inches in the crownsheet area-which he calculated would of derated the boiler to a max of 47 PSI operational pressure. The gauge was significantly misreading, in that it would indicate pressure LOWER then the actual boiler pressure. And the national boiler board test lab, could NOT get the safety valve to vent-to the point that they were afraid to increase the pressure for fear the valve could fail explosively. That inspector concluded the boiler simply ruptured due to it's extremely poor condition. Two things that will never be know, are the final pressure that the boiler reached, right before it failed, and the water level. But one could guess that it could be as high as 150psi actual without alarming a operator who was not aware of the gauge error, and maybe even higher then that-being that there was apparently nothing to stop a rise in pressure, other then a thin crownsheet.

What is odd, is that when I bring these points up, the universal respose has always been something akin to "hush boy, that boiler was low on water". And I understand a lot of the emotions-knee jerk reactions by lawmakers and inspectors across the country, put a lot of 'hobby boilers' out of action. Some of them are still essentially outlawed today, others had to go expensive repairs and/or modification. I am not insensitive to the human tragedy-even if the operator(s) were at fault, they did not set out to hurt anyone-just wanted to have fun with their toy. IMHO, the best way to honor their memory is to learn the most accurate lessons we can, from their mistakes.

Robert

[casesteam12]

All the info on this has been discussed in other threads. Search them if you like. More info is on the net if you look for it. Stop beating a dead horse. This thread needs locked.
Brad

[pegasuspinto]

Wow..three posts so far that pretty much say "go look somewhere else". Instead, let's have a logical discussion.

First, the inspection done by Mr. Peyton sounds very much cut and dried. Does anyone here have additional, or conflicing information, backed by fact? I know the engine is still existing, hidden away somewhere on someone's place, AFAIK. So some of you have surely seen it, felt it, measured it. Was this engine known to some to be in bad shape, before the explosion?

Some are gonna scream bloody murder at this-but what about the operator? Was he qualified? Trained? Was he aware of the condition of the engine? Did other people know that there were problems, and attempt to help him?

Hopeing for a rational discussion,
Robert

[casesteam12]

The problem with open discussion on this topic is that the world as a whole can see it at their fingertips. I for one would not want to elaborate for fear of legality reasons and I was not involved. I do have friends however that were involved. If you were in their shoes you would not be so quick to respond as well. All you need is a lawyer knockin on "your" door on you too would soon see that its best to just leave well enough alone on something you have no idea about. I feel sorry for all the family members that have suffered through this. It was a tragic accident and just that a "accident". As has been said before...Google Medina and all the info is there. We as a group do not want to dwell on the past. We do want to keep our steam engines safe and thats why Ohio and other states are continually working on safety rules and regulations.
Brad

[SteamLoco726]

I do believe that there were previous threads based on this issue or threads that at least contained this issue. One could search through rather than tear this open again. I think this discussion should end before it does more harm than good.

[HalfKeck]

I believe if you look in the steam traction magazine archives, they have quite a bit of information about the investigation and its findings.