Burst loco. Carnisy? What did that?

Google 'Boiler explosion steam engine' and view the results as images. Seems to be the same type of damage in peacetime.

r/CatastrophicFailure - The result of a boiler explosion on a steam locomotive

from the replies in the above it would seem a water leak that allowed the pipes to over-heat and the resulting steam cloud vented.

 

It even happens in Thomas's world



TD

 

There could be bullet/cannon shell holes that could have started the whole process off ending in the spaghetti bang

TD

 

Certainly the boiler exploded but I'll speculate a little bit that it wasn't a typical low water condition. I think it might have been a mine under the track because the right side pistons and cylinders have been blown off and the locomotive front truck is almost completely broken off as well. The boiler blew up too when the pressure vessel was breached and the steam flashed

 

Oh, that's a lovely sight, though. T.E. Lawrence would have wet himself if he could have seen it.

 

Also, I suppose if someone was really diligent/obsessed and had bags of free time they could go through the war diaries of the Allied air forces to see if it was an air strike that did it.

 

Several other websites displaying that same photo have ascribed the result to Allied air attack.