| The Great Dillsburg Train Wreck of April 1963 |
| Police, newsmen, firemen, and railroad crews were present. A Patriot reporter was wounded in his right leg by a one-pound piece of shrapnel. In all, twenty-two men were treated at area hospitals for burns and minor injuries. Brandtsville |
Click on pictures for a larger view
| Mushroom - Photographer, Tom Leask, captured this dramatic shot of the propane gas explosion in a hurry. Leask had been standing along the road, about a 1/2 mile from the wreck, talking w/ 3 other Patriot staffers. Leask got into his car, heading out to pursue aerial photos of the event. At that moment, the propane ignited, filling the air w/ a giant fireball. The staffers hit the dirt, "with great speed and little dignity. Leask, having just put his little sports car into high gear, recalls he sensed the explosion, rather than saw or heard it. 'I don't know, I guess maybe I just felt it.' he said. 'The whole car lit up with that orange light. I didn't even think about it. I pulled on the emergency brake and turned off the ignition. The car kind of skidded sideways into a driveway. I jumped out and shot the thing.' Actually, he didn't think he had snapped the picture in time. When the 3 other staffers caught up with him, Leask was stamping his foot angrily bemoaning the fact that "I was too late-I was too late!" |
| Firefighters - There are at least 15 firefighters and railroad crew in this photo, working four hoses. The hoses were lost, but the trucks were saved. Witnesses recount everyone standing around talking, a rather relaxed atmosphere, when the situation changed dramatically. A hissing and imminent explosion sent everyone running, moving emergency vehicles to safety, hitting the ground. Those still running were lifted and carried by the blast. Some coats burned off, while others stripped as they ran... " it was a matter of trying to outrun the flame from the blast. Fire was everyplace..." |
| Aerial - Photo shows main line of Reading Railroad, strewn with wreckage, just above Yellow Breeches Creek. Off Rt74 in Brandtsville, this wreck occurred just (3 utility poles) south of Miller Blvd. Fields and woods were ignited by the fireball (10:35AM) when a tank exploded. The propane tanker that did the most damage was located, before the blast, at left beside the chlorine car. After blast, in photo, the tanker was found blown completely over the pile of mangled cars, far right. More than a score of small planes hovered the site. The final explosion came within feet of a plane that hurried off to the east and was not seen again. However, many aircraft chose to remain. |
| Creek - Explosions sent cars skidding across fields like saucers. Chunks of metal shrapneled a 300-yard radius. When a chlorine tank sprung a leak, hundreds were evacuated. The odor was "obnoxious," but the water was declared safe by the State Health Dept. In 1950, on the same spot, a livestock car of pigs wrecked. A resident remembered drowned pigs floating in the Yellow Breeches and very lively ones running through the neighborhood and woods. Locals who helped round up livestock were allowed to keep some for their efforts! |
| Thanks to The Patriot-News 812 Market St. Harrisburg, Pa. 17101 A special thanks to the family of the Photographer, the late Tom Leask. For making this possible |
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| Carroll Citizens for Sensible Growth Northern York County, Pennsylvania |