The Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) released new information Monday on the situation in Lula over the weekend which led to the closing of two streets and the evacuation of one downtown business.
HCSO NARRATIVE:
“At approximately 4 p.m., Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Lula Historical Society to a report of possible old explosives found during an inventory of the building. As a precaution, deputies contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and shut down Main Street and Carter Alley. They also evacuated the adjacent Mexican restaurant.
Deputies photographed the items (possible explosives) and sent the image to the GBI, who identified them as a railroad torpedo or detonator and railroad flare. The GBI then told deputies it was safe to open the roads. Restaurant employees were allowed back inside.
An agent arrived at approximately 6:40 p.m., took possession of the items and released the building.
In the past, railroad torpedoes were used as warning signals before modern rules and radio communication were the norm.
“Known by railroad men simply as a torpedo, this is a small detonator fastened to the rail and set off by a locomotive’s passing wheels,” John H. White wrote in Safety with a Bang: The Railway Torpedo. Technology and Culture 23(2), 195-201. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/891144. “Torpedoes were developed for nighttime use when visual signals such as flags and semaphores are least effective.” “
EARLIER STORIES: UPDATE #3: Lula explosives (wgtjradio.com)