Ukraine (19 Viewers)

[baarbogast]

 

[baarbogast]

 

[baarbogast]

 

[baarbogast]

 

[baarbogast]

 

[SamAndreas]

Pretty cool.

Yeah, I like steam locomotives. It might come from the fact that I was a steamfitter for 15 years before retirement.

I've driven one of them.



Did you notice that steam locomotive was a museum piece which would barely operate towing one rail car.

Neat story, flaky headline. They might be able to get two or three locomotives like that that on the tracks, but the chance that even one of the tired engines would be able to produce enough power to pull more than two of three light cars is nil.

There are no coaling stations anymore, nor water tanks along the tracks.

In the US when an old steam locomotive goes out on the tracks local fire departments have to meet them to fill the locomotive with water. Special accommodations have to connect dump trucks with coal to fill their tender. They have to transfer that coal from truck to locomotive with a front end loader that they rent. And after they're done they have to sweep up the mess it caused on the ground where the trucks dumped their loads, and the loader scooped it up to load on the locomotive.

What used to be done in hours takes days. And most of the old engines will not produce more than enough power to move themselves down the tracks at half speed.

Steam is awesome but difficult if the infrastructure to make it work is not there. It is not there. Has not been there for 40 to 60 years.

 

[BooBirdSaint]

Delusional rantings of a failed society.

 

[BigFrosty]

They forgot the no smoking signs.

 

[BigFrosty]

Better call Saul over here.

 

[BigFrosty]

 

[BigFrosty]

 

[Sailorsaint]

They forgot the no smoking signs.

Notice the fire in the cargo hold, not the engine room. That normally means it was on purpose, unless they were carrying something flammable and dropped a cigarette.

 

[BigFrosty]

 

[BigFrosty]

 

[SamAndreas]

Notice the fire in the cargo hold, not the engine room. That normally means it was on purpose, unless they were carrying something flammable and dropped a cigarette.

What I noticed is that it was a ship out of water in the process of being scraped ashore. About 1,500 tons, made in the 60's. Real old. Should have been scrapped 20 years ago.

If you watch the video carefully you will see the fire through ventilation holes cut in the lower hull into the double bottom fuel tanks. That's a usual practice to cut big gaping vent holes prior to taking cutting torches to those fuel tanks to chop them up. To prevent an explosion of fuel vapors. They use water drenched grinding disks to cut the holes and then let the air flow though the tanks for a couple weeks to flush out the fumes. Clearly those tanks had not been drained and flushed clean well enough prior to beginning that job.

Accidents like that happen during the scrapping of a ship. It's a difficult thing to do. To cut up steel tanks which held fuel for 70 years. Oil sluge which is difficult to clean out is left on the bottom of those tanks. It's like hardened tar.

Accidents like those are the reason that most ships are sent to India to be scrapped.