A Railroad Trestle at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site

The Nevada Nuclear Test Site was one of many areas where nuclear weapons were tested in the United States, with the first one conducted on January 27th, 1951. It was located in Nye County, NV, and is still technically active today, albeit without nuclear weapons tests.

A November 1951 image of a nuclear test. Public domain image..

Many tests were conducted on industrial and community buildings to study the effects of nuclear weapons detonations from various distances, both above-ground and below-ground. According to Atomic Heritage, "Underground nuclear testing began at the NTS with Operation Nougat in September of 1961. 

Map of the Nevada Test Site from Origins of the Nevada Test Site

The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) originally planned underground tests to be conducted on the island of Amchitka off the coast of Alaska. This changed after the creation of NTS, when the AFSWP decided they wanted to test in Nevada in order to develop a more comprehensive map of fallout. "

Image and history (PDF file)

A railroad trestle with rolling stock was one of the items built specifically to be tested. While almost all of the bridge was destroyed, the base is still standing at the site today.

Thanks as always for reading!


Location: Nye County, NV, USA

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