Atomic Waste Shipments 1950s
|
Robert G P
Hello all, Id like to ask how Atomic Waste was shipped on the nation's RR's in the 1950s? I know the Atomic Energy Commission had their own cars and these were manifested into regular freights. Does anyone have pictures from the late 40's to the late '50s? This sounds like a neat operation. Thanks as always, -Bob |
||
|
|
||
|
If I recall there was Atlantic Coast Line baggage car involved in nuclear materials transport that was seen on its way to Denver, presumably something to do with the Rocky Flats plant. No idea if it was waste (doubtful imo). In general, I don't think much waste was moved around, and states have vigorously fought being used as dumping grounds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Operation On 8/18/2022 10:58 AM, Robert G P wrote:
--
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
||
|
|
||
|
james murrie
There were several cars, basically modified baggage cars, used by several railroads. They ran in regularly scheduled passenger trains. For example MILW 1046 (if I remember correctly) was a 70ft heavyweight express car that ran weekly between Oak Ridge TN to Hanford WA with radioactive material. Normally ran in "The Columbian", Tr. 17/18 from Chicago and cut out to go down the branch line to Hanford reservation.
In 1961 L&N had four surplus 10-3 sleeping cars modified to baggage dorms or use by Atomic Energy Commission which were renumbered 1650-1653. Only indication of use was "Return to Oak Ridge in small letters. And there was also SCL 666 which ran Savannah to Rocky Flats CO. Jim Murrie |
||
|
|
||
|
Greetings,
SCL 666 was the former ACL 666 alluded to by Tim O'Conner. It was used to move usable radioactive material, not waste. It move in regular passenger trains with it's own guards.
Louie B. Hydrick
Associate Broker
RE/MAX Reinvented
130 N. Belair Road
Evans GA 30809-3261
706-832-6263 Mobile
706-993-1133 Office
706-993-1132 Fax
www.csrahomesandland.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
Thanks Jim ! I misremembered the car - it was L&N, not ACL. On 8/18/2022 12:40 PM, james murrie via groups.io wrote: There were several cars, basically modified baggage cars, used by several railroads. They ran in regularly scheduled passenger trains. For example MILW 1046 (if I remember correctly) was a 70ft heavyweight express car that ran weekly between Oak Ridge TN to Hanford WA with radioactive material. Normally ran in "The Columbian", Tr. 17/18 from Chicago and cut out to go down the branch line to Hanford reservation. --
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts 
|
||
|
|
||
|
Jeffrey White
In 1956 the IC modified two cabooses 9791 and 9792 for the AEC in their Centralia shops. They were returned to the railroad and the modifications removed in 1960 and the cabooses were placed back into service. I have no other information on what the modifications were. Jeff White Alma IL On 8/18/2022 4:00 PM, Tim O'Connor
wrote:
|
||
|
|
||
|
And the 9792 is now at the Illinois Railway Museum :-) On 8/18/2022 5:13 PM, Jeffrey White wrote:
--
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts 
|
||
|
|
||
|
Steve SANDIFER
The Santa Fe modified a couple of drover cabooses for the AEC to serve as guard cars. One is preserved in Barstow at the Mojave River Valley Museum and another at the S. Calif RR Museum (OERM).
J. Stephen Sandifer
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Tim O'Connor
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 4:34 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Atomic Waste Shipments 1950s
|
||
|
|
||
|
Jim and Barbara van Gaasbeek
Nuclear fuel is transferred to the reprocessing plant in England in special trains, with two cars containing the fuel, with an engine top-and-tailing the train.
The Us has a very large, brand-new nuclear storage facility in Nevada (Yucca Mountain, Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository - Wikipedia) that is not in use, owing to states refusing to allow the material to be transported through their states. But that gets us into politics, so I’ll stop.
Jim van Gaasbeek Irvine, California
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io [mailto:main@RealSTMFC.groups.io] On Behalf Of Steve SANDIFER
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 3:08 PM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] Atomic Waste Shipments 1950s
The Santa Fe modified a couple of drover cabooses for the AEC to serve as guard cars. One is preserved in Barstow at the Mojave River Valley Museum and another at the S. Calif RR Museum (OERM).
J. Stephen Sandifer
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> On Behalf Of Tim O'Connor
|
||
|
|
||
|
Philip Dove
Nuclear waste is not always spent fuel and highly radioactive materials. Paper towels and everyday garbage from Xray suites in hospitals is also nuclear waste but described as low level nuclear waste. It gets transported to waste facilities. I would hope this was all the ex baggage cars were transporting. |
||
|
|
||
|
Philip,
Hahahahahaha! No. They transported fuel, and bomb components.
It was a different era and today's safety rules were not in effect.
Regards,
Bruce
From: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> on behalf of Philip Dove <philipdove22@...>
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2022 2:32 AM To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io <main@RealSTMFC.groups.io> Subject: [EXT] Re: [RealSTMFC] Atomic Waste Shipments 1950s
Nuclear waste is not always spent fuel and highly radioactive materials. Paper towels and everyday garbage from Xray suites in hospitals is also nuclear waste but described as low level nuclear waste. It gets transported to waste facilities.
I would hope this was all the ex baggage cars were transporting.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Bruce
Are you certain of that? Enrichment facilities at Hanford and Oak Ridge certainly produced nuclear bomb materials, and it had to be moved to wherever warheads were being constructed. These cannisters (photo) likely had something hazardous in them, although I don't know what it was. And of course this famous photo (CISX 500) of stuff moved to Los Alamos. On 8/19/2022 9:17 AM, Bruce Smith wrote:
--
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts 
|
||
|
|
||
|
Steve Stull
Tim; The load on CISX 500 is known as Jumbo, a planned containment vessel in case the prototype Fat Man bomb was a fizzle or a complete dud. It ended up not being used, because they couldn't figure out how to get intrumentation on it in case the bomb DID work. I believe it was set up approx 200 feet from ground zero at the Trinity site in White Sands NM. It survived the blast, but was empty during transport and the test. Steve Stull winslow7076
On Friday, August 19, 2022 at 05:26:53 AM AKDT, Tim O'Connor <timboconnor@...> wrote:
Bruce
Are you certain of that? Enrichment facilities at Hanford and Oak Ridge certainly produced nuclear bomb materials, and it had to be moved to wherever warheads were being constructed. These cannisters (photo) likely had something hazardous in them, although I don't know what it was. And of course this famous photo (CISX 500) of stuff moved to Los Alamos. On 8/19/2022 9:17 AM, Bruce Smith wrote:
Philip,
Hahahahahaha! No. They transported fuel, and bomb components.
It was a different era and today's safety rules were not in
effect.
Regards,
Bruce
-- Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
||
|
|
||
|
I'll soon be cataloging some photos of one of the ATSF-modified way cars for the Western Archives of the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society.
Charley Hepperle - - - The Santa Fe modified a couple of drover cabooses for the AEC to serve as guard cars. One is preserved in Barstow at the Mojave River Valley Museum and another at the S. Calif RR Museum (OERM).
J. Stephen Sandifer |
||
|
|
||
|
Steve Stull
A mistake in my memories. Jumbo was placed 800 yards from Ground Zero. Sorry about that. Steve Stull winslow7076
On Friday, August 19, 2022 at 06:15:23 AM AKDT, Steve Stull via groups.io <winslow7076@...> wrote:
Tim; The load on CISX 500 is known as Jumbo, a planned containment vessel in case the prototype Fat Man bomb was a fizzle or a complete dud. It ended up not being used, because they couldn't figure out how to get intrumentation on it in case the bomb DID work. I believe it was set up approx 200 feet from ground zero at the Trinity site in White Sands NM. It survived the blast, but was empty during transport and the test. Steve Stull winslow7076
On Friday, August 19, 2022 at 05:26:53 AM AKDT, Tim O'Connor <timboconnor@...> wrote:
Bruce
Are you certain of that? Enrichment facilities at Hanford and Oak Ridge certainly produced nuclear bomb materials, and it had to be moved to wherever warheads were being constructed. These cannisters (photo) likely had something hazardous in them, although I don't know what it was. And of course this famous photo (CISX 500) of stuff moved to Los Alamos. On 8/19/2022 9:17 AM, Bruce Smith wrote:
Philip,
Hahahahahaha! No. They transported fuel, and bomb components.
It was a different era and today's safety rules were not in
effect.
Regards,
Bruce
-- Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
||
|
|
||
|
Scott
That must be a special move up to Rocky Flats on the Rio Grande as they have the L & N car coupled to a steam generator car. Be an interesting car to add for Rio Grande modelers.
Scott McDonald |
||
|
|
||
|
Kenneth Montero
NKP has a model kit for an ACCL-SCL car used in such service:
Ken Montero
|
||
|
|
||
|
Greetings,
You can also add the Georgia Railroad, and the Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railroads to that list for ACL 666.
Louie B. Hydrick
Associate Broker
RE/MAX Reinvented
130 N. Belair Road
Evans GA 30809-3261
706-832-6263 Mobile
706-993-1133 Office
706-993-1132 Fax
www.csrahomesandland.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
Larry Goolsby
I've wondered if ACL cabooses accompanied its shipments in the 666 combine (from the Savannah River Plant, in S. Carolina across the river from the Augusta Ga. area) to Rocky Flats. Bob's Photo has a photo of an ACL red caboose coupled next to a UP caboose at a yard in Colorado - don't have the print in front of me so not sure if it's dated, but I think mid- or late 50s. ACL (and early SCL) kept a couple of wood cabooses around the Augusta area that I suspect were for this service into the early 70s, although they may have been only for local movements on ACL-SCL rather than going cross-country.
Does anybody have photos of the ACL 666/SCL 4267 in service between Chicago and Colorado? |
||
|
|
||
|
Bob Chapman
Jim Murrie writes:
In 1961 L&N had four surplus 10-3 sleeping cars modified to baggage dorms or use by Atomic Energy Commission which were renumbered 1650-1653. Only indication of use was "Return to Oak Ridge in small letters.
A bit of truth stranger than fiction -- never one to waste a usable piece of equipment, in 1978 L&N repurposed two of their AEC baggage dorms for snowplow use on their Indiana and Illinois lines. The heavy concrete-lined vault on the cars' interiors was perfect to keep them on the rails while bucking snowdrifts. All four L&N cars survived until 1998. Photo credit -- W Raia, Marion, IN, 9/80, John C LaRue collection.
Regards,
Bob Chapman
, John C LaRue Collection.JPG)
|
||
|
|
