In my last topic about a spirit at the Altoona Railroaders Musuem, there is a EVP clip of a spirit saying “Steam Burn”
Apperntly this poor sole was killed by a steam burn, but here is my question,
WHAT IS A STEAM BURN?
again…a link to the clip
its the third clip
How about “scalding”
Steam is hot-very hot-like, what are superheaters for? If the human body is exposed
to live locomotive steam, said body gets badly burned. Burn-the result of exposure
to a high thermal condition. Not a condition I would wi***o experience. You can experience this at home by placing your hand over the escaping steam from
your teapot. You WILL get burned.
at the relatively low pressure of 160 psi - the steam temperature is approximately 370 degrees or about the same tempurature as french fry oil. But that is only half the story - the amount of energy that steam gives up as it condenses to water is enourmous – something like 2.4 time the amount of energy in boiling water.
dd
Water boils at a temperature of 212 degrees farenheight. But in a steam locomotive boiler it will get infinitely hotter than that because it is under pressure. If you are sitting in the cab of an operational steam locomotive and you experience a crown sheet failure, there is a very good chance that you will be scalded to death.
I and a few others were once cautioned not to get too close to the cylinders of a live steam locomotive with our cameras, because the steam escaping from the cylinder valves can melt or distort the protective coatings in a lens.
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
I can see how you could die from being burned by steam. The scalding hot water burn you old school. Getting a whole face full of it or a large protion of your body scalded would kill you. That’s kind of why you never see guys riding in the smokestacks like in the cartoons.
There’s a line in the old folk song “The Wreck of C&O #5”
“The engine did not overturn, but a steam pipe broke in two,
200 pounds of pressure killed poor Charlie, brave and true”
I was a MM in the Navy and had my share of steam burns and they are not fun I have been retired from the navy since 1995 and still carry some scares. I used to work with 1200 psi and 1000 f when it escapes from the pipe it will cut and cortorize the wounds you are dead with no blood loss.
Rodney
In a matter of seconds it made my left hand and arm look like ground meat.
It took many layers of skin off and my hand grew twice the size it used to be but many months later it all looks ok.This happened about 5 years ago working on a steam loco.
How long must you be exposed to the escaping steam in order for it to kill you?
NOT VERY LONG !! And it is definitely something you HOPE
Doesn’t happen !!!
I belive bigedd summed it it up very correctly,seconds !!
(From a former Firefighter/EMT that has treated burns like that)
Yeah, I heard stories about Chiefs taking a teaspoon and venting some superheated steam on it to melt the spoon for the benefit of new MM strikers in the engine room. Sort of an object lesson: don’t let this happen to you.