I will always remember when our home's coal fired steam heat boiler once got overheated and the 10 pound pressure relief valve opened up releasing steam into the basement which condensed on the basement walls. Water dripping down. My mother was scared! But did get the dampers closed and the boiler cooled down. This was was a Federal WPA village of which the gov. built three, Greendale WI, Greenhills OH, and Greenbelt MD. The other connection was when I had to work in a utility electric generating station where the steam was superheated to 1000 degrees and 1000 lbs pressure. When I had to go up above the boiler to the roof to work on the microwave comunications equipment, I had a significant amount of angnst because a small leak could cause a steam cloud feet away from the source and the invisible steam could cut one in two as well as cook you. Never happened but still thought about it.
Electroliner 1935I had a significant amount of angst because a small leak could cause a steam cloud feet away from the source and the invisible steam could cut one in two as well as cook you.
Not to mention promptly setting your clothes on fire.
OvermodNot to mention promptly setting your clothes on fire.
I don't think a steam jet would ignite anything. Just cut it.
Electroliner 1935I don't think a steam jet would ignite anything. Just cut it.
Look at the parameters of the steam under discussion. Even at typical locomotive peak superheat you may see sustained ignition of hydrocarbons in the lube oil. It can be worse if there is entrained air containing oxygen being accelerated with the jet core (as in the phenomenon that re-ignites locomotive 'sparks' after they have passed through the tubes, screens, and front end).
The cutting here is not the same mechanism, I think, as high-pressure water (as in submarine leaks at depth or waterjet cutting without abrasives). Likely it is induced supersonic shockwaves, the same thing that caused all the damage to the astronauts in the Columbia post-accident deceleration.
Hate to give you any more to worry about than you had! But of course you'll never be back in that situation, so no worries...
NDG Water Heaters Back in the Forties we also heated with Coke, hot water heat with radiators, the Coke, and Coal, the latter used for sink hot water when main furnace shut down, or a costly stand alone gas ( Coal Gas ) water heater before Natural Gas arrived from the west. Furnace and Stand Alone Gas water heater and tank, right. Lit w wood matches, adjacent in holder, as were matches for kitchen stove. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/1c/78/8e/1c788e029495f10dfcd1ac9958927abe--antique-stove-water-heaters.jpg The coal and coke came from LaSalle Coke, Nee Montreal Coke and Mfg. https://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/13199674794/ http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/industrial/ont/LaSalle_Coke_4.jpg The other steam locomotive is a MLW Prairie, Nee Thurso and Nation Valley, a logging road. https://www.flickr.com/photos/colinchurcher/13199502273/in/photostream/ Note telescoping Gas Holder, rear, one of two. Rising/Falling Gas Holder. Time 1:09. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZpVojSJ09k Oiler @ LaSalle Coke, Lachine Canal, facing downstream. http://stlawrencepiks.com/seawayhistory/beforeseaway/lachine/Lachine%20canal%20125.jpg Near building is a Hydro Quebec steam/electric generating station ( Poste LaSalle ) Crane used to unload Canallers in navigation season. https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FNM-yFdFDlI/WCx1X71Qe3I/AAAAAAAAIWg/Dj13EPLu6UccfyUteBJO9AIGs7Yi-dXQQCLcB/s1600/LaSalle%2BCoke%2BCompany%2Bcirca%2B1948%2B.png We walked thru there and did not get caught. Coke Ovens for Coal Gas were FASCINATING!! Anyway, as Mr. Electroliner and Mr. Overmod have said, SCARY! When we had to ' Push ' the furnace, the hot water pipe thru the Firebox for tap water would boil it's content against City Pressure, c. 85 PSI, make steam, that would collect in the water tank next by. Opening the hot water tap would produce a geyser of live steam which would ricochet up to the ceiling, the tank below emitting a fearsome RUMBLE that shook the house. Very tense! A sound to not be forgotten. With modern recording, we now have several example of Exploding water heaters in the Internet. Mythbusters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28ixJLtQBCc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3i_ZGPtm68 The idea behind the posting was the amount of latent energy in a water heater. Also applies to Steam Locomotives.. A Rutland locomotive exploded about a mile from our home c. 1951, and pieces were said to have travelled 700 feet. This locomotive was facing it's train, no buffer, the boiler landing on coach. http://www.wvculture.org/history/thisdayinwvhistory/1227.html http://www.steam-whistles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/powellton-train-explosion.jpg The internet provides several more images, from four coupled to a 2-10-10-2 on the VGN. The rumble of the water boiling in the water tank shook the house back in '49! FWIW. Power Recovery boilers are Awesome, and Fearsome. The power of Steam, Scary, as said. Thank You.
Thank you for sharing this. Steam is so very dangerous when not operated properly. It is probably a good thing that we don't have have manually-controlled solid fuel water heaters anymore, or CO-laden coal gas in every home.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Cranbrook in 1993, and again in 2013:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDi_w5g5ig8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xul_OUELl4
The Forum software or host seems to have had glitches again. Shut down for 24 hours. Explanation??
I sent an e-mail to Jim Wrinn about this yesterday afternoon, and he was very gracious and responded. He said Kalmbach's IT people were aware of it and working on it.
"Forums" seems to be working now (11:15 EST) but "Blogs" aren't showing.
FYI.
Downturn in Coal.
NDG Third Locks Project. Panama Canal 1941. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00019286/00001/1x Of interest might be the double swing bridge at original Miraflores Locks for Panama Railroad and highway.. https://cdn.theculturetrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/mirafloreslocks.jpg Thank You.
Also interesting are the 'Mule' tracks beside the locks.
And I have a sinking feeling about this....
https://www.westonlangford.com/images/photo/110206/
SD70DudeAnd I have a sinking feeling about this....
Electroliner 1935 SD70Dude And I have a sinking feeling about this.... Such puns.
SD70Dude And I have a sinking feeling about this....
Such puns.
Yeah, ain't I a stinker.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! (we celebrate on Monday, turkey's on tonight)
Quite a nice sampling of the various facets of Montreal-area railroads:
https://www.westonlangford.com/country/canada-quebec/
Hope they get to the bottom of the problem quickly. Should I raise my expectations?
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm off to my sister's place in a couple of hours.
Celebrate it if you've got it.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Carbondale, AB woman unveils artifacts found in her back yard from a 1959 head-on crash of two Northern Alberta Railways trains:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-history-bricks-carbondale-railway-station-crash-1.5322956
Dad used to keep track of things like that. I remember hearing of several unfortunate incidents long before I read about them in books or on the internet.
The NAR event was the last major Incident involving a steam locomotive in Canada.
NDGThis event was not long after, nor that far away.
That was at Andrew, AB.
The Premier of Alberta from 2006 to 2011 was Ed Stelmach who was a ten year old attending school at Andrew at the time. His school bus came into Andrew from a different direction.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the accident he gave a very good interview about what happened in the area at the time. It was very moving and had nothing to do with politics.
NDG FYI. When Rescue Goes to H. https://www.ckom.com/2019/10/15/train-collision-near-melfort-results-in-minor-injuries/ https://www.discoverhumboldt.com/local/railway-incident-1-mile-south-pathlow-sask Westbound Grain Train, Two 2 Units lost a Unit and stalled, 100+ loads. Train Tied Down, Bulletins Issued, Crew Taxied to Terminal. Second Crew Three 3 men, Three 3 Units called East to pick up stalled Grain Train and bring it in. Rescuers ran into stalled train @ +/- 20 MPH. The Men of Science may well have Data? as to how this might affect Crankshafts and other components in Locomotives' Diesel Engines, etc? Thank You.
Would I be correct in presuming that everything stayed on the rail with this 'hard coupling'?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
NDGRescuers ran into stalled train @ +/- 20 MPH.
And even then the pins probably didn't drop...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 NDG Rescuers ran into stalled train @ +/- 20 MPH. And even then the pins probably didn't drop...
NDG Rescuers ran into stalled train @ +/- 20 MPH.
Oh yeah? Hey Tree, wasn't that about as fast as the covered hopper that kid loosed in Utica got up to?
It was the bumper that dropped then, and then some of the brick. And a good thing it wasn't more.
To paraphrase what a driver said to me after I hit ( and put a small dent in it) his car with my dad's car (at age 16), "Can't you see a thing as big as a Train!"?
What time of day did this happen? Was the sun in their eyes? How injured were they? So many questions
BaltACD NDG FYI. When Rescue Goes to H. https://www.ckom.com/2019/10/15/train-collision-near-melfort-results-in-minor-injuries/ https://www.discoverhumboldt.com/local/railway-incident-1-mile-south-pathlow-sask Westbound Grain Train, Two 2 Units lost a Unit and stalled, 100+ loads. Train Tied Down, Bulletins Issued, Crew Taxied to Terminal. Second Crew Three 3 men, Three 3 Units called East to pick up stalled Grain Train and bring it in. Rescuers ran into stalled train @ +/- 20 MPH. The Men of Science may well have Data? as to how this might affect Crankshafts and other components in Locomotives' Diesel Engines, etc? Thank You. Would I be correct in presuming that everything stayed on the rail with this 'hard coupling'?
From what I have been told nothing derailed, and the accident crew has been fired.
We had a similar incident some years ago on a branchline out of Edmonton, a crew cut off from their own train at a location where it would not block crossings, and then pulled ahead some distance to perform switching. Upon returning to their train they forgot exactly where they had left it, and collided with it at considerable speed. As nothing derailed and this was before the era of instant downloads they decided to proceed as though nothing had happened. Not long after they started moving one of the engines started giving alarms. Upon inspection they found out that the impact had broken some of its motor mounts, and the diesel engine had shifted and was no longer in alignment with the generator and air compressor.
I have never worked the St. Brieux Subdivision (Humboldt-Melfort, SK), but approximating from timetable mileages and the photo in the article I believe the collision happened here:
52.688909, -104.832780
This area would be a unusual place to leave a 100+ car, 6200' train, as it would be blocking a crossing (unless cut). I have to wonder if the crew thought this too, and expected to find the grain train at a different location farther north. I do not know what specific instructions they had, but sometimes our Form T GBOs can cover a much wider distance than the equipment actually occupies.
They should still have been obeying restricted speed while within the affected area.
Electroliner 1935 What time of day did this happen? Was the sun in their eyes? How injured were they? So many questions
The light engines would have been heading north, away from the sun. But as the crew was reversing they would have been looking toward the sun, while looking in the mirrors to see behind them.
From what I heard their injuries were not severe, mainly cuts and bruises from being thrown around inside the cab by the impact.
OvermodOh yeah? Hey Tree, wasn't that about as fast as the covered hopper that kid loosed in Utica got up to? It was the bumper that dropped then, and then some of the brick. And a good thing it wasn't more.
That covered hopper was probably doing all of that.
We had an engineer known to use every bit of the recommended max 4 MPH coupling speed.
Had another engineer one time very proud of how gentle he'd made a hitch - except the pins didn't drop - take it out and try it again...
So, I was just kidding around.
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