Attached are photos of two boiler meltdowns that I was tasked to investigate in duties of a National Board Boiler Inspector. Both boilers were fully equipped with all controls in compliance with ASME CSD-1 at the time. Different combinations of mechanical, electrical and human error were root cause. The top boiler was in the basement of major Maui Hotel. The lower failure was a 600 BHP Cleaver-Brooks boiler one week passed inspection by a major insurance company inspector.

ONLY the ASME structural Factor of STUPIDITY prevented catastrophic damage and horrendous loss of life.

I've spent many hours being the engineer in charge on way too many watches running the CB 600's and can't for the life of me imagine how that could of happened. The CB boilers are indeed a hard working,reliable and well built units and as you stated it was only the multiples of pressure vessel safety factor built in to meet ASME code that prevented a total catastrophy. The use of automatic feedwater controls,low water cutoffs,flame failure devices and so on is no replacement for a qualified properly licenced engineer on duty. But then again I've had to work with some "engineers" and I use that term loosely in this case, that I personally wouldn't trust with a coffee pot let alone a steam boiler. And for that boiler to have sustained the amount of damage it did, it would have to been almost empty as the "firebox" is about 3 foot or so below the top row of tubes and way below the bottom of the gauge glass. Thanks for the pictures.

I thought I’d probably stir a nest of steam hornets when I posted this. Thanks for the level headed replies from a novice’s question.
I think as the number of large operational steam engines dwindles it’s going to become more and more difficult to train or find seasoned engineers/firemen.
I am not proposing that the operation of a locomotive change, nor those operators rely on safety measures to ease there workload. Just that a few layers of robust safety accessories could prevent loss of life, may be even equipment damage, when human failure dose occur.
Looks like fusible plugs and low water alarms are already in some use. You would think so considering there technology is from the middle of the last century.
Would more elaborate, modern, automatic safety appliances eliminate problems from human failure, no way.
Three Mile Island and Chernobyl are good examples of just how far humans can go to defeat multiple, layered safety systems. But nobody died at Three Mile Island because we had a few more layers than the Russians did.

Having done service on more low pressure stationery boilers than I care to admit to, I must add that although the low water cut-off is a fine safety device, it too needs maintenance or it also can and will fail. But in the stationery industry, this safety is wired into the fuel feed system and is supposed to shut off the fuel flow which would be difficult on a steam locomotive. Each resolution poses many more questions and has been stated here, none will ever do away with the proper training needed to operate equipment in a safe manner.

Later!
Mr. Ed

One of the things I heard about the TMI incident was that when they realized they were in trouble, they called the NRC only to get an answering machine? Not long after that, it was staffed 27/7. Is this true or an urban legend?