(The following story by Jamie Ertle appeared on Savannah television station WTOC’s website on December 18.)
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Somebody saw something strange on the railroad tracks and didn’t take any chances yesterday. Savannah-Chatham police called in the bomb squad to the section behind the SunTrust bank off Abercorn just north of Victory Drive. The squad brought out their robot to check it out.
“Our bomb squad and officials from [rail company] CSX examined the device that was found the railroad track,” said SCMPD spokesman Sgt. Mike Wilson. “And what we found out is that it was a signaling device that is known as a wide band shunt.”
The shunt is a part of the tracks in some places, and actually looks like a plastic stick of dynamite with wires coming out. But again, it’s not a bomb and isn’t dangerous.