2114 explosion

[NW Mailing List]

British engines were generally fitted with lead plugs in copper riveted
fire boxes, boiler pressure seldom exceeded 250psi.  Plug failure was
supposed to extinguish the fire, though steam escape through firebars and
firebox doors was a side effect.  US engines had steel welded fire boxes
with boiler pressure up to 300psi.  I do not know what material was used
for fusible plugs on US engines.  Though it was not uncommon for plugs to
melt on British engines with very few explosions, it would seem that boiler
explosions were more common in the US.  Perhaps a lower melting point plug
material may have helped.
Regards,
Richard Hood

On Fri, 5 Apr 2019, 11:55 NW Mailing List, <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:

> The head brakeman was riding in the tender doghouse and was found walking
> in
> a daze near the front of the engine.  He told me some about the incident,
> but I didn't have enough sense at that time to ask him for more details.
> The 2114 had been reported with injector problems on its westward trip to
> Clare.  Some fishermen fishing under a trestle west of Eastwood reported
> being soaked by water as the engine passed, evidently overflow that wasn't
> being picked up by the injector.  I don't remember whether the water pump
> was OK or not; evidently it was not, because that should have been the
> primary water supplier while working on the road.
>
> The engineer was a noted low-water man and seemed to want to continue to
> be
> on an engine with known injector and water pump problems.
>
> There was a telegraph pole in the vicinity which had a short length of
> pipe
> with a 45-degree ell on the end of it sticking out, a souvenir of the
> power
> of steam.  I noted it every trip past Eastwood when I was riding on the
> south side of an engine.
>
> Ed King - ARFE Portsmouth, 1962-1965.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NW Mailing List
> Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2019 12:06 PM
> To: NWHS LIST
> Subject: 2144 explosion
>
> Some details from the ICC report on the 2114 explosion by Eastwood, Ohio.
>
> The force of the explosion tore the boiler from the chassis; tore the
> interior and exterior firebox sheets away from the shell section of
> boiler.
> The boiler shell was blown upward and descended 130 feet forward and 6
> feet
> south of the track with the combustion chamber end down, depressing a hole
> 6
> feet deep in the embankment; the boiler bounded forward, striking the
> smokebox section on the rails, then rebounded, coming to rest headed east
> at
> an angle approximately 45 degrees to the track with the smokebox end 275
> feet forward from point of accident and 16 feet north of center line of
> track. The roof sheet with left side wrapper sheet and upper section of
> boiler back head attached was blown forward 475 feet and 46 feet north of
> center line of track; the rear section of crown sheet with a section of
> the
> door sheet and major portions of the side sheets attached was blown 62
> feet
> rearward and 30 feet north of the center line of track; part of right side
> wrapper sheet was blown 675 feet f
> orward and 234 feet north of center line of track; the lower section of
> the
> boiler back head extending below the arch tube plugs was blown 130 feet
> forward and 212 feet north of center line of track; the lower section of
> the
> smokebox was badly distorted and torn approximately 40 percent through its
> lower rear circumference; the smokebox front was blown 573 feet forward
> and
> 37 feet north of center line of track. The cab was blown rearward 557 feet
> and 72 feet north of center line of track. Various other parts were found
> within a radius of 600 feet from the point of explosion. The chassis of
> the
> locomotive with tender attached moved forward about 385 feet and came to a
> stop with all of the wheels of locomotive and tender derailed. The first
> three stock cars of the train, loaded with hogs, were derailed; one of
> these
> was turned over and the other two were slewed on their trucks.
> The engineer's body was found in a field 530 feet west and 127 feet south
> of
> the point of explosion. The fireman's body was found in a field 112 feet
> west and 200 feet north of the point of accident.
>
> Jeff Wood
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