1973 Roseville Yard Disaster

Remains of the box cars after the explosions at the Roseville Yard

The Roseville Yard Disaster was an accidental explosion and fire that occurred on 28 April, 1973, at a major Southern Pacific railroad yard located in the city of Roseville, California. The shipment of munitions bound for the Vietnam War originated at the Hawthorne, NV Army Depot. The explosions continued for a number of hours and the loudest could be heard as far as 40 miles away. No fatalities occurred, although 48 people were injured.

Subsequent investigation pointed to a small fire in a box car caused by overheated brakes. The US military-owned box car was part of a train of military box cars carrying high explosive aircraft ammunition that had just arrived in the yard after descending from the Sierra Nevada into the Roseville Yard.^[1] The train would have been switched to an SP line in Sparks, NV before descending from Donner Summit.

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