Nearly 2,600, 500-pound Navy bombs on a Southern Pacific train detonated in three massive explosions near Dragoon, on May 24th and 25th in 1973. Crewmen in the caboose jumped free after seeing the first blast. The main explosions created a 25-foot crater that registered on seismic equipment in Tucson and shattered windows at a house five miles away. The NTSB determined that sparking brakes ignited wood and sodium nitrate residue in a boxcar, triggering the heat-sensitive bombs.
For more photos, go to tucson.com/retrotucson
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
