Huge scale accidents you've never heard of

[Blaster72]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sayano%E2%80%93...

It's hard to imagine one of those enormous turbines rising out from its housing spitting lumps of rock and metal all over the turbine hall.

Not hard to imaging the owners cutting back on vital maintenance to maximise profits though

[Timmy40]

Try this one, the Halifax Explosion. One of the largest artificial non nuclear explosions ever. 2,000 killed and most of a town wiped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

[Blaster72]

Timmy40 said:

Try this one, the Halifax Explosion. One of the largest artificial non nuclear explosions ever. 2,000 killed and most of a town wiped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

"Mont-Blanc‍ '​s forward 90 mm gun, its barrel melted away, landed approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) north of the explosion site near Albro Lake in Dartmouth, while the shank of her anchor, weighing half a ton, landed 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) south at Armdale"

[StressedEric]

Quintinshill rail disaster.

The worst train crash in British history, no less than five trains involved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintinshill_rail_di...

[Gargamel]

Well this is my favourite (if you see what I mean)

A 25ft high wave of Molasses. Caused a lot f damage and fatalities

1919

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood

[Soov535]

Blaster72 said:

Timmy40 said:

Try this one, the Halifax Explosion. One of the largest artificial non nuclear explosions ever. 2,000 killed and most of a town wiped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

"Mont-Blanc??'?s forward 90 mm gun, its barrel melted away, landed approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) north of the explosion site near Albro Lake in Dartmouth, while the shank of her anchor, weighing half a ton, landed 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) south at Armdale"

Jeepers.

[Timmy40]

Soov535 said:

Blaster72 said:

Timmy40 said:

Try this one, the Halifax Explosion. One of the largest artificial non nuclear explosions ever. 2,000 killed and most of a town wiped out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

"Mont-Blanc??'?s forward 90 mm gun, its barrel melted away, landed approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) north of the explosion site near Albro Lake in Dartmouth, while the shank of her anchor, weighing half a ton, landed 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) south at Armdale"

Jeepers.

What's really odd is only 1 of the crew of Mt Blanc was killed, pretty much everyone else within 1/4 of a mile was dead though. Weird things explosions!

[northwest monkey]

Blaster72 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sayano%E2%80%93...

I'm not entirely sure Russia should be allowed anywhere near the construction of power stations...

Wasn't the one in Fukushima a Russian design?

Anyway, I give you the Johnstown Flood which lead to massive changes in the US legal system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood

[Kiltie]

I saw the "Lake Peigneur" story on the interesting wiki articles thread and thought it was fascinating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Peigneur

[Surfr]

I must have missed this at the time but in a recent Fire training session we watched a Youtube video of the spread of this nightclub fire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclu...

[Pete102]

Depending on your definition of huge there is plenty of decent videos on here:

http://www.csb.gov/videos/

Texas City is a personal favorite - there's also good insight into the Macondo well blow out and a couple of small scale but equally interesting ones.

[Monkeylegend]

OP said accidents you haven't heard of.

This should be a very short thread.

[anonymous-user]

Does the winner of last year's Celebrity Big Brother count?

[Chebble]

Monkeylegend said:

OP said accidents you haven't heard of.

This should be a very short thread.

For you or I perhaps, but it's very short sighted of you to assume that everyone who reads this hasn't heard of some of them!

[Otispunkmeyer]

Blaster72 said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Sayano%E2%80%93...

It's hard to imagine one of those enormous turbines rising out from its housing spitting lumps of rock and metal all over the turbine hall.

Not hard to imaging the owners cutting back on vital maintenance to maximise profits though

I would love to see what happens in real time when a turbine train decides its time to part company. In a big modern powerstation, you might have 1 high pressure and 3 low pressure double flow turbines and a generator set running 1500-1800 RPM (they double up on poles in the generator so you get 50/60Hz, otherwise you have to run 3000/3600 RPM which would then limit the size of your turbines and the work you can get out of them).

But just think. The generator rotor is probably 90T, the LP's 170T each and the HP, not sure, but it'll be a few 10's of T. So 650 T or so rotating at 1500 RPM. Nothing is going to stop that if it decides to say goodbye.

[Monkeylegend]

Chebble said:

Monkeylegend said:

OP said accidents you haven't heard of.

This should be a very short thread.

For you or I perhaps, but it's very short sighted of you to assume that everyone who reads this hasn't heard of some of them!

Then they shouldn't post if they have heard of them.

[onemorelap]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Fauld_explosion

You arent allowed in the crater anymore but when we were kids it wasnt an issue.

[AndrewEH1]

Monkeylegend said:

Chebble said:

Monkeylegend said:

OP said accidents you haven't heard of.

This should be a very short thread.

For you or I perhaps, but it's very short sighted of you to assume that everyone who reads this hasn't heard of some of them!

Then they shouldn't post if they have heard of them.

Perhaps it should be called 'lesser known accidents people generally haven't heard about unless you know all about these things so therefore can't post anything because you know everything thread'

[anonymous-user]

northwest monkey said:

I'm not entirely sure Russia should be allowed anywhere near the construction of power stations...

Wasn't the one in Fukushima a Russian design?

Anyway, I give you the Johnstown Flood which lead to massive changes in the US legal system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood

Fukushima was a GE (American) design - I think one of their first if memory serves...

[Monkeylegend]

AndrewEH1 said:

Monkeylegend said:

Chebble said:

Monkeylegend said:

OP said accidents you haven't heard of.

This should be a very short thread.

For you or I perhaps, but it's very short sighted of you to assume that everyone who reads this hasn't heard of some of them!

Then they shouldn't post if they have heard of them.

Perhaps it should be called 'lesser known accidents people generally haven't heard about unless you know all about these things so therefore can't post anything because you know everything thread'

That will do, saves me searching for that elusive parrot.