Munitions explosion could have wiped out downtown Benson

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_{1973 Star photo}

_{Smoke billowed from the detonated bombs near Benson on May 25, 1973.}

The first explosion happened at 6:15 p.m., although the resulting fire continued to ignite the bombs until after 1 a.m. The bombs did not have detonators, the extreme heat set them off.

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_{1973 Star files}

_{A huge crater was created by the blast.}

Twelve of the freight cars were carrying the 650-ton load of bombs. But 33 cars on the 107-cars on the westbound train were severely damaged. The explosion left a crater 100-foot-wide and 80-foot-deep.

Two crewman first noticed flames coming from one of the cars with the ammunition on board. They alerted the engineer and then jumped from the moving train. The train had slowed down to about 35 miles per hour using the emergency brake prior to the initial blast.

The crewmen did sustain injuries and were taken to a hospital. One man, believed to have been a transient catching a ride, was killed.

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_{1974 Star files}

_{The twisted rails and debris scattered over a wide area.}

“It scares the living hell out of me to think that five minutes later the train could have been in the center of town,” said then state Rep. Hank E. Fenn of Benson. A part of the downtown business area was separated from the railroad tracks by four gasoline stations.

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_{1974 Star files}

_{About 800 bombs littered the area in the aftermath.}

Southern Pacific was criticized because the munition cars were unguarded and not locked. The Navy sealed the explosives before shipping, but said it was the railroad’s responsibility once the load left the depot.

Although sabotage was not ruled out in the initial investigation, a report adopted by the NTSB listed the cause as a spark from the brakeshoes.