The Steam Explosion That Destroyed a Fair 🚂 The 2001 Tragedy in Medina County 🚂 History in the Dark

On July 29, 2001, a 1918 110HP traction engine was being taken to the Medina County Fairgrounds in Ohio, USA. Suddenly, the engine exploded and killed a total of five people as well as injuring over fifty more. This is the story.

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#tractionengine #steam #explosion

[jaredhite]

That engine was driving by the owner to the fair grounds from his farm over 6 miles away down the road. Remember him pulling through the parking lot and parking in the show area. Looking at my buddy both of us saying "I can't believe he drove that here!" Thankfully my buddy and I decided to go to the concession stand for food and that's when the explosion happened.

[tedsmith]

7:35 you give the crown sheet thickness as .375 thousandths of a foot. Perhaps you mean .375" or 3/8 of an inch.

[FSKPilot]

The letter “I” in Medina is pronounced “eye”, not “ee”.

“Med-eye-na”.

[afs]

I have been involved with steam equipment for over fifty years, mainly rail, standard gauge and miniature, there are three things that should be understood, (1) know & understand what you are dealing with (2) inspect, inspect, inspect, (3) never assume. A steam boiler is a bomb once it's in steam, the water level in the boiler is the most important item that requires your full attention, therefore the water sight glass must be maintained and regularly checked for correct operation.
To ensure the boiler remains safe to operate the following is also required, boiler washouts & routine boiler inspections by a qualified person, correct feed water treatment, this will prevent damage to the inner heating surfaces of the boiler, inspect/replace fusible plugs at every inspection.

[Jaidencharlotte]

Always 👏 keep 👏 an 👏 eye 👏 on 👏 the 👏 water 👏 gauge 👏 glass 👏

[ramblerrescue]

I am a resident of Medina County, OH, and Clifford Kovacik was actually my neighbor at the time of the incident. I was only six at the time of the explosion, so I barely remember the details, but as mentioned else where the video of the Case 110 on the road was taken only minutes before the engine exploded. The version I've heard, relayed to me by several members of the antique tractor community (of which I am apart, owning my own threshing machine) is the operator was distracted from operating the engine by law enforcement officers who unpleased with the engine being operated on the road. The story goes after their discussion, the operator got back in the engine, started to move it, and realized the water had gone too low. By that point it was too late; the water sloshed into the crown sheet, and the mighty Case 110 exploded, reeking the havoc shown in the photographs and leaving a mark on the antique engine hobby that persists to this day.

[oakfarmagricultural]

this is why here in the uk along with our cars having to have yearly inspections, our steam traction engines are road registered like a car and under go boiler inspections to be allowed to run them

[kevinstonerock]

I used to attend steam thresher events and I simply enjoyed the experience. The operators were highly professional at the time. If there was any issues they didn’t hesitate to assist another if need be. At the time all were familiar with the consequences of improper operation. If an operator had to leave to get something there was someone nearby to monitor the conditions of the boiler. I remember an incident where a new person getting water for the event disappeared for a while. At a certain point one of the engines began traveling to the water wagon. He began asking where the guy was while he looked at his tank. As time elapsed the tone started to get more urgent. It reached a point where an operator began to prepare to start transferring water himself. That’s when he reappeared and there was a lot of people wanting to know where he’d been. I don’t know how close it was but I could sense that they weren’t too far from dumping the fire box. Anyone who hasn’t experienced or heard of boiler explosions doesn’t understand the seriousness and the consequences of one. A train or boat steam engineer has to be taught for a year or two before they’re allowed to operate one alone. When they were operating frequently there was basically a fraternity that would teach the younger ones. For the most part those days are gone.

[frankwurth]

This incident has been beaten into the ground for the past 22 years, to the point that it's a sore subject. The engine did suffer a low water event. The quoted inspectors do make some correct remarks about the over- all condition of the unit, but they also have other negative assumptions about historic steam exhibits in general, so in my opinion they tend to have a rather negative opinion in their conclusions. Basically it comes down to the fact that it's operator error, both in the operation of the unit and the fact that the operator ignored the over all unsafe condition of the unit, and continued to operate the unit in public. As for the fuse plug, no it wasn't welded over, the one in the unit was deteriorated to the point that the material in the core was pure corrosion and thus not meltable. Again it all goes back to the operator's responsibility to safely operate and maintain the unit in a safe manner and condition, poor bugger failed his duty miserably and people around him paid dearly. These big engines are very costly to own and operate, no poor boys can afford one. The last restored 110 Case sold on auction for around 400K, The fellow that had the one in the incident did have resources to afford one and indeed spent considerable money on this unit. He was warned by many fellow engine men of the poor state of his unit but failed to understand the danger of live steam, he was more impressed with new paint and the prestige of owning such a desirable unit. As a result the entire steam community has been negatively affected, we all pay the price for the mistakes of one careless individual.

[OldIron]

The photos of the blown up Case really hurt. I love tractors and I have a huge soft for steam tractors (In the US it's usually not "traction engine".) I go to about five tractor shows every year most have a few steam tractors in attendance, I never really realized that my life is in the operator's hands. A lot of steam tractors were restored in the 60's and 70's, so many of them need rebuilt, but don't. In the 1920's a huge steam engine blew up around our farm and killed 5 or 6 people.

[johnwhiting]

I read the long report...not only was the crown sheet 087 "thick, and stay bolts rusted away, , but the owner had done weld repairs to rusted off crown stay bolts, and welded in a plain plug to replace the fusible plug fullly knew the dangerous condition of the boiler....

[jmumbauer]

There's a lot to digest here, but I want to clarify something in particular. This accident is primarily caused by operator error. I will not argue that the state of maintenance on this boiler is beyond unacceptable. A simple ultrasonic thickness check by any boiler inspector would reveal that this boiler should never be put into service, regardless if it's out in public. HOWEVER, the lack of the operator's awareness of the water level (among a host of other oversights) caused this accident. A brand new boiler with perfect construction will almost certainly explode if operated in this same manner. The fusible plug that you mention is located at the back of the crown sheet since most low-water events occur with the engine 'nose down'. The right FRONT section of Kovacik's crown sheet was found discolored, leading investigators to believe it was the section left uncovered and the first to fail. The traction engine was likely sitting in a position that allowed the right front to be highest and first exposed above the water line. This indicates that the water level was beyond low, leading to a localized hot spot and crown sheet failure. This man had no business operating ANY boiler. ALL PRESSURE VESSELS ARE DANGEROUS.

[deme]

Couple of not so fun fun facts. Pretty sure the footage on the road is literally minutes before the explosion. Notice there is a police cruiser behind the tractor on the road and see the time /date stamp. Next I believe that one if not two of the victims are the Sheriffs deputies following. It was suggested at the time that the deputies distracted the operator which led to the accident. The Sherriff deputies where not impressed with the machine being operated on the road because it was damaging the roadway and they stopped him in the fair ground . I think I remember the machine was being backed into its spot at the fair when the explosion happened. It was suggested that the dry crown sheet then got the fatal splash of water when it was moved . Last thing to say is that the "i" in Medina is pronounced long. I just found your videos and they are very good

[theondebray]

In the UK, engines have to undergo a pressure test every 14 months, and a full inspection every 10 years. As a regular attendee of engine fairs, I hope that keeps us safe.

[sanderfondse]

Just proves it again. Non maintained vehicles of any kind can be deadly

[dbloud]

The footage you have of this tractor going down the street it's from a police car not to mention the police car two cars back Medina is known for overbearing police almost everybody has had a run-in with their cops on that day my understanding is the cops detained him on the side of the road for multiple hours before finally letting him go due to the fact his wheels did not have rubber traction pads regardless that most of Medina streets are concrete and would not have hurt the roads any and with no way of knowing how much water was left before they let him on his way he tried to get it parked as quickly as possible and cooled off before something bad would happen if you ask me I believe the Medina Police Department is partially at fault

[rickhibdon]

I have several friends, (steam engine owner/ operators) who were on site when this happened,
A. The owner and his son had just recently acquired this engine
B. They were not well versed in steam operations
C.This engine had not passed any inspections in years
D The new owner KNEW all this at the time he purchased it.

[e-train]

I live in Medina County and I remember when this tragic event occurred. We don't talk about it much these days but we NEVER forget.

[Sunglass_Man]

Hey Darkness the Curse, I was wondering if you thought of doing a podcast.

[deezelfairy]

Here in the UK things like traction engines fall under the same legislation as a giant steam boiler in a factory - that means you must have annual inspections by qualified personnel to be able to run it.
Even applies to 1/4 and 1/2 scale models of traction engines.
I'm a big 'don't want the government up in my business' type too, but some things (like steam boilers) have such dire consequences if things go wrong that legislation is essential.
A steam boiler is a pressure vessel so potentially a bomb if it structually fails.