On Jul 26, 12:17*pm, Andy Breen wrote:

And also, possibly, once (to use the term obligatory in uk.r)
elfandsafetymadness stepped in in the form of regulations on construction
and inspection of boilers (when government started to impede industry with
red tape/legitimately question the number of people getting blown up - choose
one explanation according to dogma or sense...)

This just didn't happen in the UK. UK regulation was some Thatcherite
wet-dream, where the private market efficiently self-regulated itself
(one of the very few cases).

Factory owners (for this issue was addressed amongst stationary
engines first) wished to insure against explosions. They didn't mind
explosions so much, there were always plenty more paupers to feed the
dark satanic mills, but it did rather get in the way of business. So
the Manchester Steam Users Association came into being. This was a
mutual insurance society. Boilers of any condition were insured, as no-
one yet knew what good practice was and there were no independent or
competent boiler inspectors to judge boilers anyway. Gradually the
Association worked out best practices for design, manufacture,
maintenance and operation. Premiums also began to be calculated on the
basis of risk, judged from compliance with these practices, not merely
size of plant. Later inspectors also came into being and eventually it
became impossible to insure a dubious boiler, thus uneconomic to
continue operating it.