In a message dated 8/23/2001 3:00:48 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> I was under the assumption that boiler explosions were not so much an
> EXPLOSION as the boiler turning itself into a rocket.
>From photos I've seen of the real thing, the boiler explodes / splits in many
places simultaneously, tossing pieces several hundred feet (as happened in
Ohio.) In most photos the flue tubes are also split and bent outwards by the
force of the explosion.
But the loco/boiler doesn't rocket off anywhere - just the escaping steam and
metal parts head off in all directions.
Here's a good description (with photos) of "THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE EXPLOSION":
http://www.csbs.utsa.edu/users/jreynolds/Tucker/exp1.html
Pete
Peter Thornton
Annapolis, MD
