On 22 July 1992, a freight train carrying cyanide bound for Kalgoolie derailed after colliding with a semi-trailer near the airport at Condobolin.
It may have been 30 years since the accident, but local emergency services and residents still remember the incident clearly.
The accident, which involved a semi-trailer colliding with a freight train, left the two passengers of the truck dead and remains one of the most significant road incidents in NSW history.
Around 42 tonnes of cyanide pellets spilled from one of the derailed wagons. Homes in a three kilometre radius were evacuated and the clean-up involved fire brigade volunteers and other emergency services for 10 days.
In an article, published in The Condobolin Argus on 1 June 2011, long time Lachlan Shire resident Bryson Deeves, for the first time released images of the 1992 train derailment.
“I’d heard about the accident on the morning it happened so I went out and took (the pictures) before anyone was allowed out there,” he said in the article.
In the same article, Keith Willis, retired captain of the NSW Fire Brigade Condobolin Branch, said the accident was one of the most memorable events of his career.
“The train spilled half its load of 80 tonnes of cyanide and that took ten days to clean,” he said.
“We had help from the hazardous materials section from the NSW fire brigade as well as from the surrounding towns in the western area.”
“All emergency services from Condobolin were also involved and due to their high level of professionalism we achieved a good outcome during the operation.”