1973 Roseville Yard Disaster

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Remains of the box cars after the explosions at the Roseville Yard Cal OES History, 1973 Railroad Explosion, Roseville Yard, California.jpg
Remains of the box cars after the explosions at the Roseville Yard

The Roseville Yard Disaster was an accidental explosion and fire that occurred on 28 April, 1973, at a major Southern Pacific railroad yard located in the city of Roseville, California. The shipment of munitions bound for the Vietnam War originated at the Hawthorne, Nevada Naval Ammunition Depot. The explosions continued for a number of hours and the loudest could be heard as far as 40 miles away. No fatalities occurred, although 48 people were injured.

Subsequent investigation pointed to a small fire in a box car caused by overheated brakes. The US military-owned box car was part of a train of military box cars carrying high explosive aircraft ammunition that had just arrived in the yard after descending from the Sierra Nevada into the Roseville Yard. [1] The train would have been switched to an SP line in Sparks, Nevada before descending from Donner Summit.

“On April 28, 1973, in the Southern Pacific Railroad yard near the Northern California community of Roseville, a bomb detonated in one of the boxcars creating massive explosions, huge plumes of smoke in the air, destroyed buildings and rail sections and dug huge craters in the ground. Over a period of approximately 32 hours, 18 boxcars exploded in succession. The railroad yard was essentially destroyed.” California Governors Office of Emergency Services.

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