Tie Plant Explosion, Radford '55

[NW Mailing List]

The postings on the above subject [with wrong year] piqued my curiosity, so I was able to go by the Virginia Room of the Roanoke main library this afternoon and found in the Nov. 21, 1953, issue of the Roanoke Times a front page article, "One Dies As Blasts Rip Radford N&W Tie Plant."  My attempts to get a good copy of the article and its two pictures off the microfilm to post here was futile.  So, the following are some transcribed excerpts or comments from the article:
  Two photos show large, billowing clouds of black smoke coming from the plant.
  "Happened shortly before 8 a.m.' [i.e., Nov. 20, 1953]
  "No cause yet."
  "Killed in the roaring blast was Bentley R. Shelburne, 72-year-old yard workman, who was struck by flying debris and apparently killed instantly as he was working about 300 feet from the creosote plant."  Charley Long:  As best as I could read names of some of the four injured , I did not see the name of your relative, A. J. Sheppard, Montgomery County resident, who you said died May 14, 1955, from injuries received in the blast. I did not have time to check following newspapers to see if additional information was published.
  "The blast spread a flood of rumors through Radford.  Some persons thought there had been an explosion at the Radford Arsenal, while others believed that a locomotive had exploded in the yards."
  "H. C. Martin, supervisor of the plant stated that he heard the explosion and ran from his office.  'The flames were already shooting high in the air, Martin stated.'  'We had water hose out and playing on it in a matter of minutes,' he reported.
  "Plant firemen were hampered by lack of pressure caused by damage to water lines.  Power and water lines were knocked out by the blast.  Thousands of gallons of petroleum sent up a pall of smoke which almost blackened out the city during the morning rush hours.
  "The fire was fed by around 80,000 gallons of creosote preservative mixture.  By a quirk of fate, a 5,000-gallon storage tank of highly explosive naphtha used in vapor drying timbers did not explode.
  "The vapor equipment was installed in the plant in 1950.  Railroad ties and other timber for use throughout the N&W system are treated in the plant."
Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: NW Mailing List 
  To: NW Mailing List 
  Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 12:18 AM
  Subject: Re: Tie Plant Explosion, Radford '55


  Thanks Ken and Gordon for the information.  A relative of my wife's, A. J. Sheppard, Montgomery County resident, died May 14, 1955, as a result of injuries incurred at the plant earlier in the month. There were no details of the accident so that was the reason for my inquiry. He had worked there since mid-30's. I have some of his artifacts, correspondence, etc. including a letter reminding him of the safety committee meeting of the 'Timber Preserving Plant' in 1944. Also, a family pass for his wife and daughter to ride the N&W Radford to Bluefield. There they would be picked up by Mrs. Sheppard's sister, Ruth, wife of W.P. Hornbarger, a Virginian section foreman living in Mullens or Princeton.
  Needless to say, the artifacts have provided interesting reading, speculation and discovery.
  Charlie Long



    -----Original Message----- 
    From: NW Mailing List 
    Sent: Feb 4, 2011 8:26 AM 
    To: NW Mailing List 
    Subject: Re: Tie Plant Explosion, Radford '55 

    The explosion and fire occurred on November 20, 1955. I have an Associated Press photo of the burning retort building. When I scanned the photo, I neglected to add the caption data from the AP tag attached to the photo. So I don't have further data without digging out the photo itself, which may take a bit of time.


    The plant never reopened, to my knowledge, as the Koppers tie treating plant at Glenvar was either already open, or due to open very shortly.


    Ken Miller


    On Feb 3, 2011, at 11:05 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:


      I'll bet Bud Jeffreys can provide some answers.  The tie plant was in operation between 1920 and at least 1950 as indicated by the following excerpts from N&W Annual Reports:

      1920 Annual Report  There is under construction at East Radford, Virginia, a tie treating plant with a capacity of one million ties per year. This plant is for the purpose of treating ties other than white oak to take the place of hard or white oak ties, of which we are unable to obtain full requirements.

      1950 Annual Report  At Radford, Va., facilities for quick vapor drying of green cross ties and other timber, eliminating longer open-air seasoning.

      Gordon Hamilton

      ----- Original Message -----
      From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
      To: "Mailing List N&WHS" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
      Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 8:41 PM
      Subject: Tie Plant Explosion, Radford '55


      > Does anyone know the date of the N&W's tie plant explosion in Radford? Fatalities, damages, notes, etc., would be helpful too.
      > Charlie Long
      > 
      > 
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