The Steam Explosion That Ruined a Heritage Railway🚂The Gettysburg 1278 Failure 🚂 History in the Dark

The Gettysburg Railway operated a heritage railway steam excursion between 1976 and 1996. However, on June 16, 1995, Locomotive 1278 suffered a backdraft explosion that revealed a history of neglect and indifference among the staff of the railroad.
"The railroad was built in the late 19th century and opened in 1891 as the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway. The line was later leased to the Reading Railroad and operated as the "Gettysburg Branch." Following the Reading's bankruptcy in 1971, it sold portions of its assets to the new-formed Conrail in 1976, however the Gettysburg branch was not included in the transfer. The branch was acquired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which then sold the line to a new company, the Blairsville & Indiana Railroad, in 1976. The latter company subsequently changed its name to Gettysburg Railroad.[1] The Gettysburg Railroad was sold to Delaware Valley Railroad Company, a subsidiary of RailAmerica, in 1996. Delaware Valley created a new operating company, the Gettysburg Railway."
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#train #railfan #explosion

[@godzillahomer]

The airlifted engineer got lucky. British Railways had a similar incident with a BR Standard Class 7. Fire suddenly blew back into the cab, filling the cab with flames and smoke. As for the crew... Gwilym Roberts, the fireman, he managed to climb out of the cab window and extinguish himself before suffering horrific injuries. Wallace Arnold Oakes, the driver... was not so lucky... Man was a hero and stayed in the cab to close the regulator, open the blower, and apply the brakes. He did not leave the cab until the passenger train had fully stopped. The fireman found him on the trackside, badly burnt. Oakes suffered burns to 80 percent of his body. The pain was so bad that Oakes had to be suspended above his hospital bed and given large doses of morphine. Oakes died a week after the accident. Oakes' case and similar cases makes me feel that a mini-series about rail heroics could be interesting. We got people like Jesus Garcia, Casey Jones, Andre Tanguy, and Norman Tunna. Could even include non rail examples. Bus drivers, airplane pilots, etc.

[@JBB4118]

No he didn't get lucky...he later passed on from his injuries.

[@godzillahomer]

@@JBB4118 wasn't aware he died. Must have missed the part of the video where that was said.

[@railmastergaming]

whoever designed a firebox that can prevent an entire explosion is a super genius man

[@MitchDonovan]

Fusable plugs usually do the job

[@railmastergaming]

@@MitchDonovan oh yeah arent they a type of stay bolt used to hold the firebox?

[@erisdiscordia1649]

From what I recall, fusible plugs looks and act a bit like stay bolts, the difference being that they’re made of softer metal. Metal that can melt at temperatures that would be considered near dangerous for the boiler. When the boiler gets to dangerous temperatures, these plugs melt, which allow boiler water into the firebox to cool the fire in an attempt to prevent a boiler explosion.

[@Comm0ut]

Blowout panels/plugs of very large size are simple and only cost money. For example Abrams tank blowout panels allow complete burning of stored rounds without impinging on crew space.

[@creaturexxii]

Hello there, I hope you're doing well. One story I would like to hear you cover is the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster that happened in Québec, Canada back in 2013. I was actually in Québec visiting family at the time when the disaster occur as I saw it on the news. Though I was only 12 at the time and never fully understand what happened.

[@JamesAllmond]

that is where my Grandfather was born, any chance of tracking down his family was lost because of that one...baptismal records destroyed, all they had back then...

[@number9-sk921]

@Thunderbolt 1000 Siren Productions Already did video on that back in 2018. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIu3qYRsZdOEatk

[@godzillahomer]

Now that's a major disaster.

[@kommandantgalileo]

the fact that the crew stayed on board until they knew they could not do anything else then bailed shows they are quite good people

[@MMID303]

I took a school on how to operate steam traction engines (steam tractors). The number one thing we learned...KEEP WATER ON THE CROWN SHEET! Don't rely on the sight glass! It cannot be 100 percent trusted. Get out and open the three try cocks(valves). The first two should have water flow out. The 3rd and highest one should have steam shoot out. That tells you the true water level of the boiler. If steam comes out of all 3 valves, then the water level is too low. Dump the firebox immediately.

[@jimmyrockstar907]

The age of steam roundhouse is a great organization! I live here in Sugarcreek and while it hasn't been restored yet, it will eventually. If you get the chance, I'd highly recommend everyone go visit the roundhouse museum! Lots of history to hear and see.

[@OldIronVideo]

Ive been told the firebox makes it impossible plus 1293 is the same class and only needs light matince

[@winkelmannchannel971]

@@OldIronVideo I’m pretty sure he means cosmetic restoration

[@OldIronVideo]

@@winkelmannchannel971 it's received a minor one the og number baord is back on and it's in CP paint just needs letters

[@winkelmannchannel971]

@@OldIronVideo I didn’t know they put the number board back on it

[@fanofeverything30465]

​@@winkelmannchannel971 What's cosmetic restoration

[@poowg2657]

I ran and fired steam at IRM in Union Ill. in my teens. You want to see a LOT of movement of water in the sight glass. That tells you both the bottom and top feed tubes are clear. We were trained to blow down both upper and lower tubes twice a trip and use the tri cocks at the beginning of each trip. Seeing ONLY a half inch of movement is a huge red flag and tells you one or both tube are plugged. When the locomotive comes to a stop the water sloshes forward in the boiler and the level in the site glass should drop to the bottom. The level in the glass will bounce up and down until reaching equilibrium. I Would NEVER operate a locomotive without tri cocks as that is your last line of defense to check water level. It is because of this incident that all locomotives must have 2 sight glasses and tri cocks and crews must be certified in how to use them. If you even suspect low water don't try to add any, dump your fire! Hope this helps.

[@rynodynomyte2755]

It was a tragic event and very sad it ruined the heritage line. We should all be grateful that despite the injuries, that the 3 men didn't die. I recently read on the Age of Steam Roundhouse's website that the damage done to 1278 if repairable. They also say they would like to restore her someday but no telling when.

[@JohnDoesItAll]

Shocking! Didn't the owner-engineer read books about boiler explosions? I tell my technicians "Better to go home to your bed than a hospital bed. "

[@williamclarke4510]

I was involved with the Allegany Central. The C&O people highly respected the 1238 and 1286.

[@thomastaylor6699]

Hello all! Well, at the very least, the waterline to the water gages should have been taken off and manually removed the scale from the gages. It's not that difficult, and all large steam engines should have a chemical that dissolves scale added to the tender every time you fill up.

[@TrainBoi6095]

The way I look at this, I feel like 1278's revenge due to poor maintenance, being worked too hard and inexperienced workers It’s like that day was the last straw for 1278 and the crown sheet failure was her revenge

[@nicholasmedovich8691]

Kingston Ontario made a specific design of thicker staybolts for Canadian built steam locomotives. Which prevented the boiler from ripping off the frame

[@metal_wheels]

that's creepy af

[@williamclarke4510]

Someone who fired the 1278 went to Gettysburg and inspected her after this incident. He concluded that "it was the result of years and years of neglect".

[@nathanchan4653]

Also 1278’s injectors, a device that feeds water from the tender to the boiler, wasn’t working due to a wrong disk used which water injection difficult

[@nathancorcoran5347]

Despite this incident, we can at least be glad that the passengers had no injuries at all while aboard the train at the Gettysburg Railroad on June 26th 1995, along with no deaths of the crew or Canadian Pacific 1278. Now that the locomotive is on static display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugar Creek, Ohio. And also that the damage in the firebox can be repairable for 1278 to return back to operation if desired now.

[@mr.minebloxdaylighttwinkle442]

KEEP FRICKING WATER IN YOUR FRICKING STEAM BOILERS YOU FOOLS!!…..sorry I couldn’t help it lol and no offense to anyone.

[@Comm0ut]

No one SHOULD be offended and working on equipment is no place for sensitives anyway. Real mechanics, welders and machinists know how terrible many end users are to equipment because we get paid to fix what they destroy.

[@rustblade5021]

Canadian safety regulations saved those passengers 👍🍁

[@GrayD1ce]

Canadian railroads saftey has improved considerably as it needed it

[@Comm0ut]

@@GrayD1ce That's anywhere in the modern world. Rail safety rules are written in blood.

[@wwtf7180]

I fired and ran both the SOO Line 2719 and the Duluth& Northeastern 28 and it was paramount to watch the water level. We removed and cleaned the site glasses quite regularly.

[@stubbysgarage]

I'm actually a Civil War reenactor and live about an hour north of Gettysburg. I love that town and the history in it. My dad and I participated in the 150th anniversary of the battle

[@levimccallum7722]

I just visited the age of steam roundhouse a few months ago, a 3-hour trip there and back, but goddamn it was worth it, if not only to see the locomotives stored there, but to learn their history. also, the main highlight for me was ringing the bell on #14. *childhood dream fulfilled.*

[@centaurus2309]

Why weren't more steam locomotives designed like 1278 if that's a safer design in the event of a boiler running dry?

[@johnoneill5661]

Why is it ALWAYS the same things that cause accidents like this? Nothing spent on maintenance, poor if any training and a total disregard for safety = Accidents = people hurt or people dead and all because the owners were only interested in money, their greed caused this accident.

[@Comm0ut]

Greed and complacency and ignorance. Many yokels imagine equipment can survive infinite abuse. Repair welding videos especially highlight what fools do to equipment that would make them much more money if they didn't wreck it. The transportation industry isn't packed with brilliance at the low end.

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

1278 is next in line for restoration by AOS after they get done restoring Reading T1 2100.

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

Ah yes, Crown Sheet my old nemesis, we meet again.

[@Drockthe3rd]

There was a third steam locomotive, number 38 from the Livonia Avon & Lakeville, and before the LA&L, the Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain

[@paulw.woodring7304]

Bought by Alan Maples of the Everett RR out of Hollidaysburg, PA, from the Knox and Kane estate, currently at Western Maryland Scenic in Cumberland, MD being worked on as time and money permits.

[@nicholasmedovich8691]

That double decker was a failed attempt of an auto rack with school bus seats. That car was scrapped in 2009

[@23GreyFox]

I'm glad something like this could never happen with the Molli railway. They operate 4 steam locomotives every day for decades.

[@jacobwhittington2462]

PLEASE do a list of the "Top 5 Most Gorgeous Trains Ever"!!!!!

[@jeremylando40]

There would definitely be some crossover here but this is a beautiful idea

[@JackCarsonsRailroadVideos]

Looking forward to this

[@paulw.woodring7304]

Jerry bought 1278 as a parts donor for his other G5, 1293, which has been a mainstay of OC and AOS operations since he got it from Steamtown in the late 1990s. Incidentally, 1278 ran on a number of excursion operations in the 1970s numbered as "127", including the Cadillac and Lake City RR in Michigan, where i rode behind it in 1970. 1278, and several other G5s were originally preserved by Steamtown founder and owner F. Nelson Blount, and some of them were sold off to other operators, including Jack Showalter's Allegheny Central operations. Those G5s were sold back to Canada several years ago. The CP G5s were built late in the steam era (like 1948) for light branch line use, and were considered desirable for excursion service, since they were retired relatively young, which is why Blount was able to buy them in "bulk" so to speak at the end of the steam era.

[@williamclarke4510]

I thought the Wilmington and Western bought them from George Hart, but I could be wrong. I don't think that Steamtown ever owned the 1238 and 1286.I could be wrong.

[@paulw.woodring7304]

@@williamclarke4510 Courtesy of Mr. Conrad's "Steam Locomotive Directory of North American", my bad, you are correct, 1238 and 1286 came to Showalter via Historic Red Clay Valley. I do remember photographing at least one other G5 at Steamtown on the excursion train in 1983 (without going through hundreds of unsorted slides), maybe 1246?

[@davidney2412]

T&D RAILROAD HAS A 4-6-2 STEAM LOCOMOTIVE #1278 THAT WAS SAVED AND IS STILL OPERATIONAL .

[@AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014]

Maintain your stuff well enough or bad crud’s gonna happen to it

[@pras12100]

This reminded me of another Heritage Rail accident I remembered hearing about in Durham, Northern England. I found a KZbin video of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hX_PZ4Oljqyod5Y The descriptive text under it tells you about as much as I know of what happened. Edit: Apparently the driver (US: engineer) had both arms broken in this incident.

[@Philip271828]

Nice find. From unreliable memory, the boiler primed past the regulator and into the superheaters so even if the crew had got the regulator shut there was still a lot of steam to clear. Weirdly, for something so spectacular, there doesn't seem to be much out there on it.

[@TNT51990]

Love learning about old trains and accidents from u anyway u could do one on the 1887 great railway disaster at st Thomas ontario ( also called 1887 rain of fire train disaster)

[@nicoferguson1215]

Five words: poor maintenance, crown sheet failure

[@jeremylando40]

To think the man who owned the Gettysburg also owned the Knox & Kane where the Kinzua bridge is located that’s a whole other video in general

[@JBB4118]

Yeah, Sloan Cornell was different....

[@stevenplyler6306]

Sadly the Kinzu Bridge has collapsed at the Railroad abandoned.

[@jeremylando40]

@@stevenplyler6306 it’s quite the site I’ve been there

[@TrainznProgress]

You should talk about some of the run aways with 16 on the east broad top

[@gabetrain8834]

Maybe you should do a a video like this with CP 2317, even though it’s about horrible incidents

[@callumh5294]

I'd like to see history in the dark do a video about beaudesert rail.

[@mr_memez617]

Can you pls try and find a train accident that involves multiple locomotives like at least five or four locomotives in the crash please

[@craigreckelberg3464]

The Gettysburg Railroad had 3-steam engines- canadian pacific #1278, Frisco #76 & #38. Their steam program not following safety protocols resulting in #1278's boiler back draft. The engine house and coachshed may be haunted from union soldiers of the civil war.

[@jo-anneouellette366]

Soooooooooooo great you good

[@Redwagon2012]

You also forgot that 90 did a double head With 1278

[@williamclarke4510]

I had a ticket for the first one. Went on the second one instead, thus I wasn't on the one that had the tender derailment.

[@williamclarke4510]

A very good trip!

[@ianmacpherson2409]

I cant see a fusible plug on the crown sheet. Perhaps the photo dosent show it clearly?

[@williamclarke4510]

If you can't afford to maintain a steam locomotive, don't try to run one.

[@trainboi]

if you cant maintain a steam engine, then don't buy it

[@amtrakproductions-mx9ib]

What about strasburg 475's crash?

[@machanicalgu]

I’m going to go siphon some water out a steam engine and YOU CAN’T STOP ME!

[@Tristanstuff6988]

Hey can you do a video about the QJ’s/6988

[@TrainFanFrancis]

Ayyy a story about an engine from my home

[@Vextrix739]

I've herd of this before in a other video man talk about luck it didn't pull a C&O and Went Kaboom

[@The_Canadian_Railfan]

Ooh yes this infamous story

[@marcthesaddletankprod9777]

Hey he talked about this loco when the last time he talked about the boiler explosion

[@yourlocalidiot23432]

i seen her when i went to the steam roundhouse

[@timbarger3984]

The Gettysburg Railroad and Knox & Kane were owned by the same person.

[@OldIronVideo]

I've seen this engine twice irl

[@mrsaturngamingandstories]

Who's your Patreons

[@jasongoodman3495]

I wouldnt trust Crozer Chester for anything other than burns if you gave me 10 million dollars

[@jo-anneouellette366]

Hi you good

[@bigboy-tk8vq]

1278 was in the movie funny girl

[@edward_nwr_2800]

june 16th is my birthday..

[@Troller9125]

6:14 #trypophobia