How someone almost accidentally made a steam locomotive into a bomb - Fowler's Ghost 

It still blows my mind they were using steam trains in the metro tunnels. Those places tend to be hot even with modern electric trains. I can not imagine how sweaty and suffocating the air in the underground would be during the steam era.

There is no worse accident in the steam age than a boiler explosion, I always say.

Well, this takes "Learning from your mistakes" to a WHOLE new level. A close call from an explosion is nerve-racking!

"I prefer decimating my enemies by constructing rail tracks to their fortifications and driving an explosive locomotive into them" - Julius Caesar

I remember hearing about Fowler's Ghost from Simon A.C Martin. At the time parts that were brought up were where the engine worked and it failing, but the reasons why it failed weren't mentioned. Also I could be wrong here, but after the failed test runs the engine was left in a disused tunnel. I don't know if that's true but the history about it is something very interesting.

Anyone remember the British Railway Stories? He made an episode with it.

they also have fusable plugs (made of lead and would melt if the water they should have been covered by went dry)

Rule 65 when making a steam locomotive: DO. NOT. MAKE. IT. A BOMB!!

That's one I don't recall having heard of before. I know the GWR built many condenser fitted locos over the years specifically to work their Metropolitan lines. When steam was eliminated from the main lines in the 60s, several were bought by LT to replace their own aging fleets.

The problem with boiler explosions due to lack of water is not because of the air (or in this case steam as there is no air in the boiler) expanding, but the firebox overheating due to the lack of contact to the cooling water. The material fails at these high temperatures being reached and the pressure in the boiler tears the firebox open. Exactly this happended in the GDR in the 80ies. A locomotive running low on water braked for a longer period of time and the water in the boiler moved forward leaving the top of the firebox dry. It subsequently overheated and when the water came back on the overheating firebox it created a lot of pressure quickly which burst the weakened firebox open killing the crew immediatly. The boiler then lodged itself free from the engine and flipped forward like a rocket landing on the track before the locomotive killing several bystanders but luckily missing a lot of people waiting in the trainstation.

I leant of this thing through Simon A.C Martin, when I was younger his telling of the engine terrified me, the tale had some differing details but it was still scary

Congrats on reaching 50K! All aboard to 100K!

Surely even at the time they could have added a large tap on the steam side of the boiler, so that in the event of such a scenario, you could dump the pressure fast. Something like a 3" pipe diameter tap with a pipe at the exit extending away from where the man had to stand to open the tap so he didnt get killed in doing so. Could have probably used a sea cock from a ship even.

This is somewhat similar to the British steam-powered submarines of the K class but even two steps more complicated. The K class were built some 50 years later and did not really work out very well either. To paraphrase, if the only source of mobile power you have is a steam engine everything looks like it needs a steam engine.

The real bomb is you getting 50K!

This takes "boiler explosion" to the next level!

Every time I think of fowlers ghost, I remember that loud ass whistle at the start of the British railways video

Anyone else remember this ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dkupqRpV51s.html Familiar right?

Using Mario 3D World Ghost House music as bgm was a genius choice my friend! I'm somewhat fascinated by this engine as so little information exists and there's only one photo or it.

It's DAMPERS, not dampeners. Dampeners make things damp. DAMPERS subdue, in the case of boilers, by reducing the air supply to the fire.

Didn't think i'd hear super mario maker 2 music in this channel

Well, you can't win 'em all. It was a good fundamental research project, however.

I thought explosions were caused by the melting of the crown plate when water was too low.

That is very interesting - I had not heard of this engine before! Also, just to let you know - there are some typos in this and the previous video's thumbnails ("acidentally" and "deisel"). Greetings from the UK.

Congratulations on 50k!! BTW I loved your gaming session on Cho Cho Charles!! BE GONE !!!

well, any locomotive can be a bomb if you operate it wrong enough

SM3DW Ghost House. Nice👌

This is interesting, this is at least the fourth different rendition speaking of this engine. Your's is the most detailed. I think we should be careful when examining the past. It's too easy to use our current understanding when judging the past. The designers and builders didn't know what we now know. Future generations will waggle their heads over some of the ignorant things we do now.

You should do a video on the peculiar turf-burning engine of CIÉ in Ireland!

Isn't there is usually a safety valve on boilers that prevent such over-pressure explosion to happen?

It might have been a terrible engine but I tell you what, broad gauge locomotives look particularly bad-ass.

Amazing video bro

Compressed air locomotives were similar and used in munitions works.

Hey, TrainOfThought is this a re-upload or is this a new video? I mostly feel like this is a re-uploaded video.

Why they don't use water injector to PROVIDE it from explode

If you’re apart of the generation who grew up on RU-vid but long before the era we live in today, then you’ve probably seen an episode of a old show called: “Fowler’s Ghost” from Simon A.C Martin.

You really need a better microphone. This one sounds really hollow. Like if it's in some big plastic enclosure. Like your vids anyway. 🙂

Fowler wanted "chugga chugga Choo Choo" instead he almost got "chugga chugga boom boom".

Have you considered doing a video on the Midland Paget Engine?

Great video, by the way, you forgot one of the "c"s in "accidentally" on you thumbnail.

YT cannel, History In The Dark has covered this locomotive in one of his videos. He has an entire video on homicidal 🚂🚂. He has an entire series on just plain bad 🚂🚂.

Well, to to be fair, you can't really have an issue with steam buildup if there's an explosion.

When he said they dropped the fire but the fire bricks kept heating the boiler, I got Chernobyl flashbacks.

Well I guess my suggestion was granted. Thanks!

I doubt the engineer who ran it the first time would've wanted to run a second time after realising he couldn't drop the firebricks.

Jules Verne's hero imagined it for a doomsday weapon?

Afghanistan's favorite train

Nice choice of BG music, very nostalgic.

To be fair, a steam boiler isn’t too different from a bomb in the first place. This one just had a few more complications

Weren't spring loaded safety valves a thing already?

There was no diesel in the 1860s !!! Nor electric traction.

It would be interesting a video about the so called "fireless steam locomotive" that were used in all of those facilities that sparks and ashes wasn't allowed to fly around the yard

That engine: fuc- boooooom

I hate it when i accedntely make a Bomb insted of a Steam Engine

8981st

You need to talk about armoured trains if you haven't talked about it yet

I have a request could you do a video on serria railroad engine number 3?

This sounds like an epic teardown weapon concept

Man you weren't kidding about it being a bomb lol

When a train doesn’t have a safety valve:

Fouler ghosts was an interesting idea

Thank you!

There’s a bomb on the boiler!

"Let us determine the best method to reduce the following of Britain's fine underground. And if of you gentleman consider any saying, bear in mind, I was born knowing about fowlling" - Mr. Fowler, probably.

You could almost say that it has "Fowl-ed" up. The joke was stupid a bit, but still an amazing episode about another event in railway history.

Obviously I don't consider myself smarter than all of the railroad designers of the time, but I wonder if it would just been practical to run tubes from the smoke stack at the front of the engine all the way to the back of the train. Possibly functioning like the TankTrain of today, the smoke would be let out behind the entire consist. Probably a lot of issues I'm not thinking of, but an idea.

All high pressure steam generators and pressure vessels have the potential to accidentally become a bomb. A recirculating condensate system can be done and as you point out has been done successfully. Still a fair bit of combustion smoke from coal though and they hadn't quite figured out scrubber systems at that time yet. I wonder what they had for tunnel ventilation? Natural draft would definitely be considered inadequate today.

Someone has to go first in everything. Doesn't mean they win, but they give a push start to those who come after then. Props to Mr Fowler.

*Hybrid*

You could do video about Fire Trains. There are no such videos about them.

Cool

"Oh these are homemade these are made in a factory A bomb factory Their bombs"

ha

Great vid ToT, I had no idea they used steam engines underground.

Damn. Talk about confusion and delay.

This is one of the most interesting stories on the railways I’ve ever heard.

Please do a video on Franco-Crosti engines next.

Did it not have safety valves?? Or was that what saved it.

"Accidently". Preach to the choir.

If I’m not mistaken this is a re-upload right?

broad gauge trains. they look so ridiculous but i love them so much.

The condensing water was just part of the recirculation of steam into water and back to steam. It simply got hotter as it could not get cooled enough to be put back into the boiler as water. Injector pumps operate on the basis of a good temperature difference between the steam to drive said injectors and the water they were due to pump. This was a problem for the Metropolitan engines that had to stop to have their water changed. Condensers need a supply of cold water to cool the steam into water (creating a vacuum in the process). This is fine on steam ships like where there is ample room and a ready supply of cold water from outside the hull. The water circulates around pipes that contain the steam, and is kept separate at all times as you don't want contaminants or sea water in your boiler. The Glasgow Underground of 1896 used cable haulage from the start until it was electrified in 1935.

So not only was it a bomb-it was a *_slow_* bomb?

I do enjoy your channel

MORE LORE?

You da bomb.

Bombs

FIRST

Where and what museum was that cutaway boiler exhibit displayed at? ♨️🏛️🌳