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The Braamfontein Explosion was an explosion of a freight train carrying dynamite in Braamfontein, a suburb of
On 16 February 1896, a freight train with eight trucks of dynamite - 2300 cases of 60lb each, or about 60 tonnes - was put in a siding at Braamfontein railway station. The dynamite was destined for nearby mines, but the mine's stores of dynamite were already full so the train was left in the siding - for days, in very hot weather - until there was somewhere to store the dynamite.
On the afternoon of 19 February, after labourers had started to unload the train, a
Memorial
Series of Photographs relating to the Explosion
{{coords missing, South Africa History of Johannesburg 1896 in South Africa 1896 disasters in Africa 19th century in Johannesburg 19th-century disasters in South Africa Explosions in 1896 Explosions in South Africa
The Braamfontein Explosion was an explosion of a freight train carrying dynamite in Braamfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
, in 1896. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
Explosion
On 16 February 1896, a freight train with eight trucks of dynamite - 2300 cases of 60lb each, or about 60 tonnes - was put in a siding at Braamfontein railway station. The dynamite was destined for nearby mines, but the mine's stores of dynamite were already full so the train was left in the siding - for days, in very hot weather - until there was somewhere to store the dynamite.
On the afternoon of 19 February, after labourers had started to unload the train, a shunter
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
came to move it to another part of the siding; but after the impact of the shunter, the dynamite exploded. The explosion left a crater long, wide and deep. The explosion was heard up to away. Herman Eugene Schoch recorded hearing the explosion in Rustenburg, ca. 120 km away.
Suburbs as far away as Fordsburg were seriously damaged, and about 3,000 people lost their homes.
Memorials
Accounts vary, but it is thought that over 70 people were killed and more than 200 were injured. A memorial at the Braamfontein cemetery reads that 75 "whites and coloured" were killed. In 2012, artist Eduardo Cachuco created "Explosion, 1896", a complex artwork based on the explosion which was shown at the "looking glass" exhibition.References
External links
Memorial
Series of Photographs relating to the Explosion
{{coords missing, South Africa History of Johannesburg 1896 in South Africa 1896 disasters in Africa 19th century in Johannesburg 19th-century disasters in South Africa Explosions in 1896 Explosions in South Africa