I'm reposting what is making the rounds at Facebook:



https://www.youcaring.com/benjaminandke ... an-1159451

They're not asking for much--just an improvement to his recovery. I'm going to presume (and correct me if I'm the least bit wrong) that he is a State employee, covered by appropriate insurance, Workman's Comp, and benefits. That may not go far, however. If just a few of us step up, it could ease their burden at what's probably a very trying time.

This is also a reminder that steam railroading is, at its heart, still an incredibly dangerous profession, whether this accident was caused by human error, mechanical failure, or freak act of the almighty. Use this as a reason to go over, once again, safety protocols and the like, and nip in the bud that complacency that can possible lead to carelessness. (I dare not speculate if this could lead to changes at Cass, such as the shop becoming more off-limits......)

May I suggest that even if you are not able to make a cash donation that you enter a message of caring and support on that website.

I'm confident that messages of support/prayer help in the recovery effort. We steam lovers need to stick together.

Thanks, Ross Rowland

Pleased to report that the fund raising effort is nearly to the stated goal of raising enough funds to purchase an adjustable bed so when he gets home from the hospital he'll be as comfortable as possible recovering from his serious injuries.

His wife is most grateful for the support.

Ross Rowland

This is absolutely horrible news.

Does anyone know what happened? How can we learn from this tragedy so that a similar incident be prevented in the future?

Rumors floating around Facebookland indicate that while firing up Shay #2, he went to tighten a leaking washout plug that was apparently only hand-tight and it let go on him. The plug SUPPOSEDLY hit him in the face and scalded his upper torso. Can't recall if the Shay's there use tapered washout or Huron/Prime plugs. I would assume tapered.

Again, I must stress the Facebook factor here. We all should wait for an official report from D&GV RR. Keep this gentlemen and his family in your thoughts/prayers.

Best,
DC

I have also heard similar reports on the incident. This is of particular concern to me because J&L 58 has tapered washout plugs (14 of them!) and one of my worries early on is of the safety of those plugs.

Perhaps now is a good time for a reminder. Do NOT attempt to tighten anything threaded into a boiler when it has any steam pressure on it. Drop the fire, reduce the pressure to ZERO before making any adjustments. This includes hand holds on traction engines as well. It is not worth the risk!

Agreed. However, like it or not they're still going to be those that do it because they've done it before and gotten away with it. Even events like this don't sway them to reconsider bad habits. I say this because I've seen it in both the railroad and traction engine crowds.

Perhaps we can use this event as an opportunity to pool the collective and useful experience from those on this this forum into washout plug safety/maintenance standards? Just an idea.

DC

Examine the threads and chase as necessary. Don't trust worn out threaded connections. Use some form of good pipe dope as a sealant so you don't have to install them like the Incredible Hulk to make them seal, which only leads to deformed plugs and threads and compounds the problem. If you don't know you haven't cross threaded but get some resistance, take it back out and try again - don't force it. Don't schedule washouts and expect to be up and running the next day - it encourages not dealing with small problems before they become big, and trusting blindly instead of examining and repairing - rotate power so you have time to fix whatever needs attention. Of course this means you have to have good threads and round holes and well machined plugs that share the same pitch - NPT and old school railroad plugs are a half pitch off and it's easy to get confused. If you want to be belt and suspenders about it, do a hot water hydro before raising steam after washouts - you will have nice preheated water to start with, and a good slow warmup that will stress less. Number the plugs and holes since after a few decades of use, every one of them has become custom fit.

This person would have been an employee of the Durbin & Greenbrier Valley RR, since they are now the operators of the Cass Scenic RR and have been since 2014.

Very sorry to hear of the injury. The real question of prevention, however goes back further... namely what procedure was in place to prevent the fire from being lit before all the washout plugs were tightened?

This story really harps on how much respect we should have when working on these machines. I know that when I was in charge of boiler washes on NHRR 40 I was always paranoid about forgetting to tighten one or more of the plugs prior to steam-up. I used to carry around a check list of each plug to make sure I'd tightened them all, and even then I'd second guess myself and go back around. Most of 40's plugs are tapered with the exception of the mud ring and arch tubes. I have gotten hit with low pressure steam from a steam heat hose that let go a few feet from my face and I can only imagine how horrific this experience would be. I very much hope this gentleman has a quick recovery and as I wrote on that site, working on steam locomotives is a labor of love. That alone makes it more of a tragedy to me when any of us are injured.

Even the real pros screw up or get complacent.

I was told by a Saturn parts supplier around 2000 "You see that Jiffy Lube down the street? They've bought five engines from me so far this year to replace engines they forgot to re-fill while changing the oil--and I only deal with Saturn and GM engines! Do NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, go to them or any other Jiffy Lube!"

So when I needed an exhaust line replacement done, I took it to a shop highly recommended by my race-car-owning friends, a garage shop that dealt with more specialized stuff than the normal repairs. And in addition to replacing the resonator and muffler, I asked for a due oil change.

You can guess what happened.............

They were forced to admit liability when I showed them the bone-dry dipstick on the stalled engine across the highway and 50 feet up from the garage. (I couldn't get turned around fast enough from the traffic light's turn lane when the oil pressure light started flashing.) They had to go back to my supplier to source a decent used engine, nowhere near as prime condition as the one they killed. And they took a MAJOR hit in reputation among the same friends that had recommended them.

At least the mistake they made wasn't potentially fatal...

ADMIV:
In a another thread, you wrote... Ross isn't bullying anyone. His truth is to the point. Safety is safety.

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I'd appreciate getting back to washout plugs and boiler fitting safety and let oil change issues in IC engines go to another place - maybe the Car Talk forum?