Warning: I just read that a boiler explosion in 1865 killed 1,200 people in one go

I was looking up some old steam engine history for a model I'm building and stumbled on this fact. It was the SS Sultana, a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The boiler blew near Memphis, and the death toll was just huge. I knew our work was serious, but seeing a number like that from a single failure really hit me. It makes you think about every weld and every pressure check in a different way. The article said the boat was way overloaded with freed Union soldiers heading home, which probably stressed the system. It's a grim reminder of why the codes we follow today exist. Has anyone else come across an old disaster story that stuck with you?

3 comments

3 Comments

ross.kevin17d ago

Yeah, "already known to be faulty" is putting it mildly. The repair guy basically patched it with a piece of thin metal instead of replacing the whole thing. So they knew, they just really didn't care. Talk about cutting corners to save a buck. Makes you wonder what the meeting was like where they decided that was a good plan.

lindamartin10d ago

My friend's landlord did that exact same metal patch thing last winter.

emmaj3318d ago

Honestly, that's a crazy number. Did the article say if the boiler was already known to be faulty before they left?