Question, What do you do with old torpedoes?? I ran in to this problem a few years ago when I purchased a fusee and flag box that still had some torpedoes in it. My answer for my self was to just hang it in my barn where it couldnÂ’t be bumped and just figure it out later. Now I helping set up a museum and in the course of cleaning out a box on a vehiclopod, I found 4 unused torpedoes. Now my solution doesnÂ’t work here because
A) itÂ’ll be around the public and I donÂ’t want to take any chances.
B) Right now they are in a historic piece of equipment and I donÂ’t want to take the chance of them getting set off where they are and damaging it.
So hear is my question, what do you do with them? Is there a way to deactivate them and then preserve whatÂ’s left for the display? ( I regularly get questions about torpedoes on my tours it would be nice to have one that I could safely show) How should these things be handled? (especially if you canÂ’t deactivate them, is it safe to dispose of them by setting them off?) And also whatÂ’s in them?? (at least one of the members of MSR&LHA has experience with explosives, and offered to give us advise what to do and how to handle them, if he knew what was in them) any advise is appreciated.

Ben


btrue@vt.edu

> Question, What do you do with old
> torpedoes?? I ran in to this problem a few
> years ago when I purchased a fusee and flag
> box that still had some torpedoes in it. My
> answer for my self was to just hang it in my
> barn where it couldnÂ’t be bumped and just
> figure it out later. Now I helping set up a
> museum and in the course of cleaning out a
> box on a vehiclopod, I found 4 unused
> torpedoes. Now my solution doesnÂ’t work here
> because
> A) itÂ’ll be around the public and I donÂ’t
> want to take any chances.
> B) Right now they are in a historic piece of
> equipment and I donÂ’t want to take the
> chance of them getting set off where they
> are and damaging it.
> So hear is my question, what do you do with
> them? Is there a way to deactivate them and
> then preserve whatÂ’s left for the display? (
> I regularly get questions about torpedoes on
> my tours it would be nice to have one that I
> could safely show) How should these things
> be handled? (especially if you canÂ’t
> deactivate them, is it safe to dispose of
> them by setting them off?) And also whatÂ’s
> in them?? (at least one of the members of
> MSR&LHA has experience with explosives,
> and offered to give us advise what to do and
> how to handle them, if he knew what was in
> them) any advise is appreciated.

> Ben

In all the times I have been taking train pictures I have only seen/heard a torpedo go off once. I was lucky enough to get it on tape, as a VIA's Super Continental was departing Jasper in 1986. I got the explosion and the sound of course. (Via F's In The Rockies, is the tape title if you want to reference it sometime)

So, I have no real answer for your situation, except to say, that perhaps you could make a big deal out of it, and perhaps do a demonstration at a selected time and date to show how one works. Of course that would have to be planned so folks are back far enough, but it might be a good interactive experience. Then you can see how much of the torpedo is left after it goes off, and have it preserved, and decide what is best at that time for the remaining ones. I would think having unexploded ones around might be a hazzard, but I will defer to experts who know far more than I!
Greg Scholl


Videos
sales@gregschollvideo.com

We used to have a machinist on the night shift who often wrapped one around a Stillson wrench and dropped it from handrail height onto the floor, just to ensure that we stayed awake... I have no idea what is in them, but know DOT regulations prohibit carrying them in railroad trucks. They are relatively powerful, as we also had a B&B carpenter that lost his hand playing with one.

ryarger@rypn.org

> Question, What do you do with old torpedoes??

Ben -

depending on where you live, contacting local law enforcement is probably your best bet. When we moved into our home, there were several very old bullets in the basement, and we were advised to contact the local police - they were trained to remove them safely.

If I remember correctly, torpedoes are low explosives (gunpowder), so they won't become terribly unstable like dynamite, but they do become unstable.

JAC

> We used to have a machinist on the night
> shift who often wrapped one around a
> Stillson wrench and dropped it from handrail
> height onto the floor, just to ensure that
> we stayed awake... I have no idea what is in
> them, but know DOT regulations prohibit
> carrying them in railroad trucks. They are
> relatively powerful, as we also had a
> B&B carpenter that lost his hand playing
> with one.

I think I remember reading in the old Railroad Magazine that they would have to be replaced every so often with new ones as they may tend to become unstable over the passage of time.......I believe they have a gravel-type substance mixed with the explosive so it would be wise to be well away from one if it were caused to be exploded......take a good picture of it strapped over a rail for show and tell and dispose of it as you would for bad ammo....by ALL means handle with care!

gbrail@yahoo.com

The safest thing to do with them is to set them off with a train. Don't use a motor car, the force of the explosion could be enough to lift a motor car off the rail. These things are the equivalent of a shotgun shell. I'd recommend using a work train and warning everybody first.

Back when SCRM was still regularly running cabooses (and still learning), I had a coffee can full of old torpedoes that I'd picked up during my four-month stint with Sperry. We decided to celebrate Independence Day by putting them on the track as the train came back into Rockton. I was conductor, and was protecting the return shove from the porch of NKP 465 as we apprached the #1 switch. Our Illustrious Potentate had liberally spread torpedoes on the track -- something like eight or ten of 'em in the space of about three rail lengths, both rails. He'd warned me by radio, but I neglected to warn the passengers of what was coming. The hack hit the first torpedo, and a female passenger nearly had a heart attack. When I didn't react by the fourth or fith bang, she figured out it was nothing to worry about -- and promptly began to loudly and liberally chastize me for the scare.

Then, a couple years ago, I got it in my head to put one on the rail just ahead of the wheel of the locomotive one day during the week. I wanted to see if a rookie conductor would check under the wheels before he moved the train that Saturday. Sure enough, when the engine came off the skate, there was a loud BANG that scared the bejeezus out of everybody -- even me, because I'd forgotten about the darned thing. That particular conductor learned to check the wheels, and I learned (finally) that John Q. Public doesn't like loud, sudden noises!

The South Carolina RR Museum
mconrad@compuzone.net

By typing "Railroad Torpedoes" into Google, I got seven pages of references, so maybe those can provide the info you need if you want to bother trying to sort them out. One rather interesting one I tried referred to old torpedoes being removed by a bomb squad (see link below). Don't know if that would be over-reacting or not.



Bomb squad removes torpedoes

Now that is what I call an overreaction!!! Evacuate a building to remove some torpedoes. And to think I ride all over the countryside next to these apparently super dangerous things.

Tod Engine Foundation
rick@todengine.org

When I was a kid we used to hang torpedo's on a fence and shoot them with 22's. They made a very satisfying bang when hit. So my suggestion is to see if you have anyone in your group that target shoots and have them take the torpedo's to a gun range and use them for targets. In a 50 yard range they will be far enough away from everyone that the metal straps that are used to clamp the torpedo to a rail won't be a danger as they fly away from the explosive pack (usually the straps only flew a few yards but it is something to keep in mind).
Have fun.


jmann@asyst.com

I had always "heard" that they contain a little bit of dynamite. If you are going to set them off using railroad equipment, make sure no one is close as the lead straps and bits and pieces really go flying. They snuck a couple in on me one time and they really are loud if you are hanging out the window. If you want to get rid of them with no hassle, drop them off at your local law enforcement agency , fully explaining the details, don't make it a surprise, and you should be able to avoid over reaction.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

I was taught years ago to NEVER use a torpedo with old cast iron wheels as it could damage the wheel and even shatter it. I have never seen the results for myself, but I never questioned this as made sense.

For your own safety and others contact your local fire department or law enforcement.

Most have a way of safely dealing with old explosive devices or they will contact the nearest agency that can deal with the issue. Old explosives, especially nitro based products get very unstable. (The liquid pools in the bottom of the stick)

A friend of mine had to deal with a crate of dynamite that had been stored in the attic space of an old building since the 1920's.

I beleive our local state police were more than happy deal with it.



tchjjjj@aol.com

Call your local police or fire department to dispose of old torpedos. If I remember the numbers correctly one torpedo is equal to 1/16th stick of dynomite.

Yes they do become unstable with age! the sweat that forms on the really old ones is nitroglycerin. Generally they are still safe but you never know.

Funny you should ask. We came up with a few last year in a large collection of tools and such. In NJ fireworks are illegal and we have very strict firearms laws.

We took them to the local police department for disposal.

> Question, What do you do with old
> torpedoes?? I ran in to this problem a few
> years ago when I purchased a fusee and flag
> box that still had some torpedoes in it. My
> answer for my self was to just hang it in my
> barn where it couldnÂ’t be bumped and just
> figure it out later. Now I helping set up a
> museum and in the course of cleaning out a
> box on a vehiclopod, I found 4 unused
> torpedoes. Now my solution doesnÂ’t work here
> because
> A) itÂ’ll be around the public and I donÂ’t
> want to take any chances.
> B) Right now they are in a historic piece of
> equipment and I donÂ’t want to take the
> chance of them getting set off where they
> are and damaging it.
> So hear is my question, what do you do with
> them? Is there a way to deactivate them and
> then preserve whatÂ’s left for the display? (
> I regularly get questions about torpedoes on
> my tours it would be nice to have one that I
> could safely show) How should these things
> be handled? (especially if you canÂ’t
> deactivate them, is it safe to dispose of
> them by setting them off?) And also whatÂ’s
> in them?? (at least one of the members of
> MSR&LHA has experience with explosives,
> and offered to give us advise what to do and
> how to handle them, if he knew what was in
> them) any advise is appreciated.

> Ben


http://www.njmt.org
jrmay@njmt.org

Ben et al;

There is an old expression in the military that when one assumes one makes an ass (of) u (&) me. Like every other rule in the military there is an exception. That exception is that when you are dealing with an (a) old; (b) unfamiliar; (c) damaged; (d) defective; or, (e) any or all of the above, explosive you assume that it is unstable and more powerfull than it looks. All of the criteria above are subjective. Since you don't know the details of manufacturer or date it is only a guess as to what is in them and I am not about to suggest that you open one to look, in fact DO NOT OPEN ONE OR SCRAPE THE SAND OFF OR DO ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT!!

The basic construction is a small charge of either trinitrotoluene (TNT) or dynamite wrapped in a spring steel skin. When the skin is compressed against the charge with sufficient pressure the charge detonates. The detonation is probably sufficient to take off your hand, remember these thigs are meant to be heard in the cab of a locomotive.
Newer ones with TNT are probably fairly stable BUT ASSUME THEY ARE NOT. Ones that were made with dynamite (nitroglcyrine based) are assumed NOT TO BE STABLE.

Since you are in Vermont:
Vermont State Police EOD
Team Leader
Sergeant Dan Troidl
802-222-4680

The phone call is cheap, this is what they do for a living and your tax dollars are already paying for it. It is not an emergency of any kind but it would be a decent training excercise. They may well agree that the safest thing is to is to put them under a train.

What we generally do when we find them is either blow them in place by runing a train over them or move them to a place where it can be done safely. If I dont like the way it looks (again, very subjective) it is an excercise done with long tongs, body armour and a bucket. While that may seem like an over reaction I see no reason to get even a little hole in me.

Mike Allen (who has dealt with this stuff for a living)

> Question, What do you do with old
> torpedoes??
Snipped...


ptrmgtsvc@juno.com