Puyallup bomb squad helps man dispose of old ‘railroad torpedo’ explosive
Feb 1, 2022, 7:42 AM | Updated: 10:24 am
(Puyallup Police Department, Facebook)
(Puyallup Police Department, Facebook)
A Puyallup bomb squad was called to the home of a man asking for assistance in disposing of an old railroad explosive device on Monday.
The device was what’s known as a “railroad torpedo,” described by the Puyallup Police Department as “one of the oldest safety devices used by railroad companies.”
“It is a small dynamite charge that’s wrapped in paper, with lead straps to hold it on a rail,” PPD described in a press release. “When a locomotive’s wheel comes in contact with it, the weight of the engine sets off the charge and makes a loud sound that warns the engineer.”
The device had been stored in a garage of a Puyallup home “for many years,” until the man who owns the home called the bomb squad to aid in removing it from his property. PPD officers and Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies then evacuated all homes and businesses in a one-black radius, allowing a bomb squad to use “a controlled counter explosive to make the railroad torpedo explosive safe.”
The railroad torpedo was “safely and successfully detonated” around 4:30 p.m. Monday, with no reported injuries or damage to the surrounding area.
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