| Description |
Black and white photograph of a damaged train at Grand Junction in the early 1940s. Ed Yourdon's notes:; "Train wreck, in Grand Junction, CO -- during the early war years... I don't have any other details; don't know, for example, who took the photo." Additional information provided by Michael A. Nuttall in 2023: "This photo is of the aftermath of a munitions train explosion that occurred in Grand Junction, Colorado, on Sunday, June 27, 1943. The wooden floorboards of one of the boxcars caught fire due to an overheated brake or axle. Two railroad employees, Victor Griffith and Warren Lampshire, had the wisdom to separate the two boxcars that had caught fire from the rest of the train, risking life and limb to do so. Explosions started around 1:45 am and continued until 6:00 am. The large holes in the sides and roof of the boxcar on the left are evidence of exploding artillery shells. Other photos of this event can be found in the Museums of Western Colorado Lloyd Files Research Library, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Archives, and the North 7th Street Historic Residential District Kathy Jordan Collection." |
