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Nuclear U-Boat

The Heritage Railroad picks up loads of radioactive contaminated soil ready to be shipped out of the K-25 site in Oak Ridge, TN. VLIX 9553 is in charge of the days train, a GE U23B still sporting its former CSX MOW orange scheme. The Oak Ridge K-25 Site, which opened in 1944, was once home to multiple gaseous diffusion plants, used to produce enriched uranium initially for the Manhattan Project. The enriched uranium would be used in the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Following the conclusion of World War II, the site became capable of manufacturing highly enriched uranium, with production lasting till 1964. Six decades after production ceased, decontamination efforts are still underway with the Heritage Railroad playing a vital role in the process.

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Uploaded on June 26, 2023
Taken on March 6, 2023