Steam Explosion Rocks Manhattan

[silentC]

No doubt I'm exposing my ignorance here, but why does New York have a network of pipes carrying steam? I've been there and seen the steam coming up through cracks in the ground. I always wondered what it was all about but never got around to asking. I suppose it's something to do with heating?

[Andy Mac]

Hi Silent,
Scarey stuff, I just read on the Australian website, quote:

Millions of pounds (kilos) of steam are pumped beneath New York City streets every hour, heating and cooling thousands of buildings, including the Empire State Building.
The steam pipes are sometimes prone to rupture, however. In 1989, a gigantic steam explosion ripped through a street, killing three people and sending mud and debris several stories into the air.
That explosion was caused by condensation of water inside a steam pipe.

Regards,

[silentC]

Ahh, there you go. Serves me right for reading the Sydney Morning Herald!!

I thought it might have been to stop the water pipes freezing.

That would be a bit of a bummer. Walking along to work minding your own business and the footpath opens up and sprays steam and mud all over your nice clean suit!

[Bodgy]

Was it the Pointer Sister who gave us 'Steam Heat'? I think it was around NY. Anyone who's been there would remember the pipes and radiators clanking and belching away all day in winter.

Was the legendary Marilyn piccy caused by these steam pipes or by the local subway train passing beneath a vent?

[silentC]

I think she might have had a different expression if it was the steam :o

[joe greiner]

Was it the Pointer Sister who gave us 'Steam Heat'?

Patti Page. Long before the Pointer Sisters, IIRC.

Joe