Zafra 2000 - The Demise of 1382

All these the pictures are from 'a Yank' Click here for the 3 Yanks report: I have taken the following narrative from their full report:

"The aftermath of this boiler explosion was truly sobering to view. The amount of potential power in a steam boiler, and the result if it is not handled correctly, was on grisly display.

The locomotive is upright, but off the track. The tender is not here, it was pulled back to the scrap tracks near the mill. The entire boiler is pushed back about a meter on the frame and is tipped about 20 degrees to the right. All the frame attachments and fittings are sheared off and the rear of the frame is bent down and distorted. Parts of the valve gear and piping are badly bent from the force of the explosion.

A section of the boiler shell from the rear of the smokebox to the front of the steam dome is missing. It broke into pieces during the explosion, and we find several of them scattered around the area. It appears the reinforced area around the steam dome may have stopped the rupture of the boiler toward the rear. Examining the boiler shell near the steam dome reveals what look like sheared edges and a clean looking break. No evidence of wasting or corrosion was apparent here. It is difficult to tell where the initial failure occurred, but one likely place seems to be at the joint with the front tube sheet. The other may be at the bottom of the boiler, where years of untreated water and the resulting corrosion may have thinned the shell.

The front tube sheet is in one piece, although badly bent and distorted. It came to rest still attached to a piece of the boiler shell. A few rivets in a section of approximately 1/6th of the boiler circumference held the two together. The other 5/6ths of the rivets had pulled out around the circumference of the tube sheet. Some stayed in the boiler shell and some left with the tube sheet. A few "safe-ends" are visible in the tube sheet, revealing where tubes had been repaired using this method.
The tubes are still in the remains of the boiler. They are hanging out, bent in all directions. Some are wrapped around the shell and pointing toward the rear of the loco. All had pulled cleanly out of the front tube sheet. The smokebox shell is still in place, due no doubt to the strength of the cylinder saddle attachment, and two large frame braces on the exterior. The force of the explosion has shattered the smokebox door. Two small pieces remain attached to the hinges. The rest is missing. The stack was also sheared off and broken approximately in half. There was no sign of the headlight, turbogenerator, or the front sand dome. All that remained of the rear sand dome was a section of the base.

When we inspected the loco, all the cab fittings and many pipes were gone. Most likely, already salvaged by the shop crew. The cab was sitting collapsed off to one side. We feel the cab was removed during the start of the salvage and scrapping of the loco, and not due to the explosion. Also, it was apparent the front tube sheet was torched loose from the piece of boiler shell it exited the loco with. Other than that, #1382 was just as it had come to rest. It was interesting to view, but I hope I never see another like it.". Now look at the pictures. By April, the remains of the boiler had been removed leaving just chassis, smokebox and firebox.

#1382 with cab in foreground

1382