[A transcriber's note follows the text.]

CONTENTS

• Preface.
• On Steam Boiler Explosions
• Conclusions
• Boiler Explosions in 1866.
• Boiler Explosions in 1867.
• Boiler Explosions in 1868.
• Boiler Explosions in 1869.
• Boiler Explosions in 1870.
• Boiler Explosions in 1871.

PREFACE.

Accurate information as to Boiler Explosions must always be useful to those who are interested in the safe working of Steam Boilers.

The following pages contain very brief abstracts of records obtained for the Midland Steam Boiler Inspection and Assurance Company, by whose permission they are now republished in a compact and convenient form.

By permission of the Council of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the records are prefaced by a Paper on Steam Boiler Explosions and their records, and on Inspection as a means of prevention, read before that Institution at Manchester, August 1st, 1866, and a further Paper on the "Conclusions derived from the experience of recent Steam Boiler Explosions," read before the same Institution at Nottingham, August 3rd, 1870.

All names of Works or Firms are omitted from the records as unnecessary.

On Steam Boiler Explosions

and their Records, and on, Inspection as a Means of Prevention, by Edward B. Marten, mem. inst. m.e. a.i.c.e., excerpt Minutes of Proceedings of the Meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at Manchester, 1st August, 1866, Joseph Whitworth, Esq., President, in the Chair. By permission of the Council.

The subject of Steam Boiler Explosions, which was brought before this Institution in June, 1848, in a paper by the late Mr. William Smith of Dudley in reference to an explosion near that place, and again in 1859 in a paper by Mr. Longridge on the economy and durability of stationary boilers, is one of great importance and is now attracting increased attention. The first public notice of the subject was by a parliamentary committee in 1817, which was appointed in consequence of a very fatal boiler explosion in London in 1815; evidence was then collected as to steamboats, and many boiler explosions were referred to. That committee recommended among other things that boilers should be made of wrought iron, instead of cast iron or copper, which had been the materials mainly used previously; that they should be inspected and tested; and that there should be two safety valves, each loaded to one third of the test pressure, under penalties for any excess. A great part of the information now existing upon the subject, especially in regard to the earlier explosions, is to be found in the records of inquests after fatal cases; and some of the careful reports of eminent engineers on those occasions have materially assisted in the formation of correct views as to the causes of explosion. Latterly also the printed reports of the inspectors of mines, and more especially the reports of the explosions of locomotives, illustrated by diagrams by the inspectors of railways, have furnished very valuable information. Since the subject has been taken up by private associations for the prevention of explosions, many more records have been published, although their usefulness is much impaired by their not containing the names of the places whereby the explosions could be identified.

When the writer's attention was first directed to this subject, he met with great difficulty in obtaining correct records of boiler explosions, from which to arrive at the results of past experience; and wishing to base his own opinion on facts, rather than on the inferences of others however reliable, he followed the example of the Franklin Institute in their elaborate investigation of the subject, and collected all the records he could find; and by way of facilitating reference, arranged an index, a manuscript copy of which is presented with the present paper to the Library of this Institution. All must be agreed as to the importance of reliable information on such accidents as boiler explosions; and the writer would suggest that this Institution may materially aid in obtaining the desired records and placing them within easy access, by becoming the depository of reports on explosions, and by inducing those who have the opportunity to forward copies of reports, that these may be arranged so as to be easily found and consulted. It is very desirable that these reports should as far as possible be illustrated by sketches, as aids to the description; and also by slight models like those now shown to the meeting, by which the whole matter may be seen at a glance. So few persons comparatively have the opportunity of examining boilers after explosion, that the most erroneous ideas have prevailed, and theories have been advanced which would soon be dissipated by practical experience or by reading accurate reports. It would also very much aid in the understanding of published matter on the subject, if full descriptions of each case alluded to in illustration could be obtained. These records are as useful to the engineer as the "precedents" or "cases" to the lawyer or the surgeon. After any serious explosion, the newspapers of the neighbourhood in which it has occurred contain voluminous articles describing the