117-Year-Old Dynamite Found
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ACTON — A box of dynamite believed to be from the 1800s was found near railroad tracks Saturday morning, but the explosives were deemed “too wet” by sheriff’s detectives to be dangerous.
The 50-pound box of dynamite was found about 9:45 a.m. by a passerby about 20 feet from the Metrolink railroad tracks at 7433 Soledad Canyon Road, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Spear. The dynamite was simply too old and “too wet to blow up,” he said.
“The markings on the box indicated that the explosives were over 100 years old,” Spear said.
Spear said the box had an 1877 date and a label from San Francisco. He said the explosives could have been used in clearing mountains for railroads.
The explosives technicians took the soggy box, which contained black powder and two sticks of dynamite, and disposed of them, Spear said.
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