Author Topic: Massive Train Explosion (Read 438 times)

trax1 · « **on:** February 17, 2008, 01:16:05 AM »

I saw this on the History Channel and it's just an amazing video of a train exploding, 2 train cars carrying chemicals derails and catches fire causing the liquid inside the cars to become so hot that the liquid inside detonates in a massive explosion so I thought I'd share it for those who have never seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf3WKTwHpIU

lasersailor184 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2008, 01:18:46 AM »

BLEVE.

texasmom · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2008, 02:16:03 AM »

My goodness. That was some set of explosions!

sunfan1121 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2008, 03:02:15 AM »

the second one was the best IMO

rpm · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2008, 03:47:23 AM »

I saw video of a rocket fuel plant in Nevada exploding. You can see the shockwave from miles away.

Slash27 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2008, 04:21:57 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by texasmom
My goodness. That was some set of explosions!

There was a pic on the cover of Firehouse magazine of this incident. It really put some scale to the size of the fireball.

trax1 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2008, 07:36:30 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by rpm
I saw video of a rocket fuel plant in Nevada exploding. You can see the shockwave from miles away.

Yeah I've seen that, windows were blown out on houses and stores for like 20 miles or more, and it registered a 3.5 on the richter scale, and it's believed to have been all started by an employees cigarette, it was almost like a tactical nuke going off, heres video of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG5jm8VdDwU&feature=related

acfireguy26 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2008, 02:01:13 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by lasersailor184
BLEVE.

B-oiling
L-iquid
E-xpanding
V-apor
E-xplosion

We learn that one in FF recruit school.

Wolfala · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2008, 06:32:03 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by trax1
Yeah I've seen that, windows were blown out on houses and stores for like 20 miles or more, and it registered a 3.5 on the richter scale, and it's believed to have been all started by an employees cigarette, it was almost like a tactical nuke going off, heres video of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG5jm8VdDwU&feature=related

Was started from a welders torch lighting some fiberglass panels which spread to the Ammonium Percolate piles.

This is the official fire report.

http://www.interfire.org/res_file/pdf/Tr-021.pdf

About 250 tonnes TNT equivalent of material detonated - nuclear equivalent to approximately a 1KT surface burst. The natural gas main underneath the point of detonation didn't help fire fighting efforts later.

The second link is a report from Sandia Labs which focused more on the airblast propagations and estimates of yield.

http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA396009&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

midnight Target · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2008, 06:54:45 PM »

Train derailment near my old home town a few years back caused a strange one. The cars derailed and smashed a couple of houses, but unknown to anyone at the time they also damaged a 36" underground natural gas line. Some time later (I don't remember but I think it was a couple of days) the line blew and wiped out 2 blocks. Luckily many of the people had been evacuated due to the toxic chemicals the train had spilled.

I'll try to find a link.

Newman5 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2008, 07:00:50 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by rpm
I saw video of a rocket fuel plant in Nevada exploding. You can see the shockwave from miles away.

The explosion at PEPCON in Henderson, NV occurred two blocks from where I currently live and the area has been completely rebuilt/expanded from so many people moving to the area. No one even recognizes it. But what an explosion... It also contaminated the ground water with ammonium perchlorate (a component of rocket fuel), of which we are STILL trying to clean up.