The Reason Train Design Changed After 1948

Hey Joe, I'm a boiler operator. One thing you touched on that makes steam boilers so dangerous is that the water super heats under pressure like you said. But if there's a sudden pressure drop, like a small rupture in the pressure vessel, the ENTIRE volume of water instantly flashes to steam at a volumetric ratio of 1600:1. You read that right. 1 liter of superheated water will instantly flash into 1600 liters of steam. Big bada boom.

the other big difference from steam to diesel was the convenience of startup, steam engines must start fire like 5 hours before they can move, oldest diesel like 30 min before, its a huge difference in operational change

The biggest reason steam was put to pasture is that steam is very, very labor intensive to maintain and takes a lot of hours to keep running properly and safely. It is much simpler and cheaper to run diesels and multiple locomotives can be ganged together and operated by 1 crew. Diesel also does not need a huge infrastructure to resupply water and fuel. When the UP takes their steam on tour it takes a big staff to service it in many planned stops.

"Why is there smoke coming out of your engine, Seymour?" "Oooh that isn't smoke, that's steam, steam from the steam engine. Mmm steam engine!"

Dick Vincent, hero, did something not a lot of people today will do: saw a problem, made it his problem, solved it and saved many lives. I'm glad he's being remembered.

Railway shunter for V/Line in Victoria, Australia for 23 years. As part of the Bicentennial celebrations in 1988, Britain shipped over The Flying Scotsman steam loco to run around the country with our carriages. As the new(ish) guy, I was "volunteered" to attach it to the set of cars for the Melbourne-Sydney run. I thought it was kinda cool, to work with such a famous beast for a change. Afterwards, I realised why they shoved me at it. Dirty, dirty bugger of a thing it was. 😂 I was covered head to toe in soot.

Working with stills and having one pop I can tell you a small one was catastrophic with medium pressure. the shed was just gone. I cannot imagine a steam locomotive going.

Steam engines weren't replaced because of boiler explosions. That had been solved in Victorian times with tamper-proof safety valves and a better inspection regime. They were replaced because they are incredibly labour-intensive and the thermal efficiency is typically only 5-10%.

It's amazing a steam train could reach over 88 miles per hour while pushing a Delorean back to the future, great Scott!! xD

Fun fact: Boiler explosions were very common early on and especially on ships. Boiler manufacturers would eventually stamp a warning on the plates of the firebox stating that the manufacturer was not responsible for any death or injury from the use of the boiler. This is where the term "boiler plate warning" comes from.

You brought up BetaMax so im going to chime in. People always talk about how Porn was on VHS and thats what killed Betamax, but it really wasn't, Sony wouldn't license Betamax out, all Betamax players and tapes were Sony they did the same thing with minidisk. VHS meanwhile was owned by JVC, they licensed it out to dozens of companies to produce tapes and players, so they were WAY cheaper, like half the cost, and the tapes were easier to buy and rent. The nail in the coffin though was a Standard VHS tape ran 2 hours they even had 3 hour ones a Betamax tape was 60 minutes, meaning even for short romcoms, you had to change the Betamax tape to watch a movie, which got around as annoying they took more space to shelve so video rental stores didn't carry BetaMax, so people didnt buy the players.

My grandfather, born in 1879, lost all the fingers on one hand and had his lungs scalded in a steam engine explosion. Even years later he was not able to get life insurance because of these injuries. He died at 87 years old, peacefully in his bed, outliving all his doctors and the insurance company. With

Steam boilers in river boats and ships were also all to common.

I had to check the fact about 1.9 million people being killed by automobiles. The fact is true but more than 90% of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Road traffic death rates are highest in the WHO African Region and lowest in the European Region. Even within high-income countries, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be involved in road traffic crashes. Another 50 million people are injured from car accidents without undergoing death.

"A wave of Nopes as far as the eye could see" 😂

I would imagine the pipes would burn through eventually. Back in the 70's during the oil crisis, our University offered a bonus to employees who came up with energy saving ways to heat. This guy won, he routed through hot water pipes through the burner, so when the trash was burned on Tuesday, we got tempid hot water and a boost in building steam temperature. The pipes burned through on the coldest day of the year. The pipes froze and burst, so we had a winter wonderland of ice and steam. I was on the University Bio department newsletter and got a great photo of a professor barely visible in his office. A misty ice cave and a grinning bearded guy. I wish I had that newsletter!

Thanks to you Joe. Following your recommendation, I started researching into Abby Joseph Cohen Services. Thankfully it was a little over a year ago now, I started an lnvestment with Abby's Services and that allowed me to be on much MUCH more stable ground in the face of global financial upheaval. So thank you, your channel, and your employees. For what it's worth, it made a difference for me and my little family.

I travelled from France to England on a steamboat. Nothing exploded, no bad things happened. But I did get to be stoker / oiler on a freaking STEAMBOAT for a couple of days :)

Cold water going into a hot partially dry boiler definitely has an effect. . . Thermal shock and mechanical stresses. . . A picture is worth a thousand words.

Joined! I don't recall how I found your channel but what a treat. Keep doing this, Joe!