Foster Wheeler Boilers (+ discussion about redundancy)

[riskygizmo]

I'm sure the answer is probably already somewhere on the forum but what was the cause of the explosion and how much damage did the machinery suffer?

Allan, if you click back a page and look at "Reply 38" you'll find a link to the NTSB accident report. It's 55 pages long and a bit of a "head nip" for non Engineers, but worth a scan through. They came up with a catalogue of problems which contributed to the boiler explosion, including the accelerated firing up and cooling down procedures; the boiler mounting sliding feet that didn't slide; inconsistencies in the boiler feed water chemical treatment and some rather "iffy" repairs (including some evidence of a crack having been filled with copper  )

As far as damage to the other machinery, I don't know. Deck plates were lifted and bulkheads buckled. It wasn't good. But the worst was that ten of her crew were killed as a result and several more injured.

The ship was withdrawn from service and never returned, ending up, eventually, at Alang.

Before I started working on QE2 I was acquainted with one of the First Officers, John Carrol, who was a friend of my sister. Way back in 1977 he was expressing concerns over the use of the propulsion machinery. He likened it to having a brand new Jaguar XJ6 and driving it flat out up and down the M1 for eleven and a half months of the year, only ever stopping for fuel.

He also mentioned an incident about some kind of 'blowback' explosion which had the potential to blast a hole through the bottom of the ship but fortunately the blast went up instead of down. That's all I know, can anyone shed any light?

Your mate the Mate may have been refering to the explosion and fire of 1976.

https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,3934.msg37529.html#msg37529 

[Alan Snelson]

Thanks riskygismo for pointing me to the right place. The 1976 fire certainly fits the time frame that my friend was on board so that was most likely the event he was refering to. I haven't been in touch with him for some time now as he moved back to Australia a good few years back and I don't have contact details so I can't ask him.

It is very fortunate that QE2 crewmembers didn't suffer the same horrific fate as the Norway crew. I suppose that most people simply don't realise the tremendous forces at work in a steam turbine system and the awful destructive power when things go wrong. What a terrible event for the crew and ship and what a sad end for the Norway.

I remember her maiden cruise out of New York. Me and the chief photographer, Tony Secker, were allowed up on top of the wheel house to photograph her as we passed in the Hudson, what a morning!

Will have a read through the NTSB accident report when I have some spare time, Although I worked as a photographer I came from an engineering background so hopefully will be able to get my head round it.

Thanks again for the information.

[riskygizmo]

Waverly,
    Where did you get that cut away?  Never seen that one before.

Someone here flogging "oil painting repros" of the same image. Not cheap, though (or maybe they are, and I'm just being Scottish about it  )

http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/John-S.-Smith/Queen-Elizabeth-II.html

[June Ingram]

Perhaps I have not yet found the correct board, but is there here detailed information on how QE2's steam propulsion system was originally set up including diagrams and specifications ?  Thank you very much in advance.

[Mauretania1907]

I had not seen any film of Norway's boiler explosion before. That was one hell of a bang! Although I am not an engineer, I do realise that the force of steam pent up could result in a devastating explosion, as told me by my grandfather who witnessed the explosion of a traction engine. Pieces of it were scattered for metres around. Someone had tampered with the steam escape vent, tying it down to get more grunt out of the engine. A dangerous and stupid thing to do. Also the steam is scalding and I believe Granddad when he said it would cook you if you went too close to venting steam. Found the scene of injured (dead?) crew members being taken to ambulances harrowing to watch.