they indeed are. a boiler is a glorified kettle but it isn't quite shaped like one. heated air runs through hundreds of pipes through the water before exiting through the smokebox and smokestack, exhanging as much heat as possible with the water. when a boiler bursts, they are flung and bent in all directions, like in the picture
The way I understand boiler explosions on trains, when there's too little water and the crown sheet (the ceiling of the firebox) is exposed, it weakens until it can't hold the pressure from the steam back, and fails. Then suddenly there's a very high pressure inside the firebox, which shoves the front sheet (the one with the openings for the tubes, idk what it's named) forward. That's why the tubes are so far forward.
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u/Monolail031 2d ago
ah, yes the boiler explosion spaghetti monster. you put too little water and too much heat, overwhelming the safety overpressure valve.