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The NP Historical Society publication, The Mainstreeter has a two-part article (Volume 19, No. 1 and No. 2) on the explosion of NP 4-6-6-4 No. 5105 on 7/7/1938.  There are lots of details including a sort of slow motion account of exactly how the crown sheet let go during the 3/10th second time frame, and continuing on to describe the exact course and attitude of the boiler as it became an airborne projectile, and finally on to a description of the area that was subjected to a rain of parts falling back to the ground.Apparently, the down blast of a crown sheet failure, and the upward reaction thrust combine to create a sudden impediment to the forward motion of the train, almost like running into a solid object.  However, I have not read nor heard of a lot of discussion of this principle.  That appears to have occurred in the case of this NP explosion.  Many freight cars in the 4000-ton train were smashed together more or less still in line, almost as if they telescoped.  The explosion was due to low water, but the investigation failed to explain how events led to the low water or why the crew would ignore the low water alarm, which is loud enough to be heard hundreds, if not thousands of feet from the locomotive.  NP rebuilt the locomotive and continued to use it.In his book, Call The Big Hook, Samuel Dougherty describes a boiler explosion on the D&RGW in 1934, of engine no. 1409, a 2-10-2.  It blew the firebox right off of the boiler, and the boiler, frame, running gear, and the rest of the train continued on for a mile. The cause was a build up of mud in one of the water legs.  The deposit built up to about 2' x 2'.  It prevented the water from circulating through that area and created a hot spot that burned the firebox side sheet.
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