Runaway hopper head-butts train nine miles down track

Jun 17, 2011 at 08:23 AM CST
By Jan Rahn Managing Editor A runaway rail car smashed head on into a parked train east of Wallace causing an undetermined amount of damage and shutting down the railway for nearly 72 hours. "Fortunately, no one was hurt," said Mike Ogborn, spokesperson for NKC RailNet in Denver, who described the incident that occurred Tuesday afternoon about 4 p.m. CDT. According to Ogborn, employees of Scoular Company in Grainton were moving a loaded hopper car of corn with a front-end loader. The car got away, ran through the derail and switch, then ran through a spur track and got on the main line heading east toward Wallace. "It's a highly, highly unusual occurrence for loose car to get on the main track," said Julie Heiliger, director of marketing and communications for Scoular Company in Des Moines, Iowa. "We load tens of thousands of cars each year and this has never before happened." Ogborn said the loose hopper car traveled 10-12 miles through two major crossings and several smaller crossings before smashing into an idle train waiting for a relief crew to show up and proceed toward Sterling, Colo. Elevator personnel paced the car along the road, and the pace car reached 60 mph, according to Ogborn. Upon impact with the first locomotive engine, the loaded hopper car split open, spewing its load of corn onto the engine and the track before landing in the west ditch alongside the elevated track east of Wallace where the railroad crosses Highway 23. The first locomotive is a total loss, said Ogborn. The second is being examined. There is no obvious external damage, but company officials are checking for internal damage. The 40 cars sitting on the track behind the two engines were unharmed. The damaged locomotive was moved off the track with heavy equipment by Thursday, June 9. The second engine was moved the next day and the track was predicted to be cleared and ready for use by 4 p.m. the afternoon of June 10. Scoular was expected to be back in business by late Friday also. "We don't know how the car got away," said Ogborn. A piece of equipment called a track mobile is usually used to move cars, but this time they were using a front end loader, he said. "That's not normal practice of a shipper. It's still being investigated," said Ogborn. According to an eyewitness to the crash, there was fuel spilled from the impact. Ogborn was unable to confirm that report, but said if fuel was spilled, it was very little. Hi-Line Co-op employee Kanen Hammond said he was working at the station in Wallace when he saw the loose car go zipping by. He jumped in his pickup to follow it and witnessed the crash. He said Hi-Line assisted in extracting remaining fuel from the damaged locomotive and helped clean up some spilled fuel. Costs of damage to the train and the track are not yet determined. Ogborn said NKC RailNet is putting together a safe practice presentation that will be given to all shippers along the rail line. Heiliger of Scoular said their company is also investigating the incident and will take appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence of what happened last week. "We are extremely grateful there were no injuries and that property damage was limited," she said. "We really have more questions than answers right now. Results of the investigation will help us understand what happened." View Original Post

Jun 17, 2011 at 08:23 AM CST

By Jan Rahn Managing Editor A runaway rail car smashed head on into a parked train east of Wallace causing an undetermined amount of damage and shutting down the railway for nearly 72 hours. "Fortunately, no one was hurt," said Mike Ogborn, spokesperson for NKC RailNet in Denver, who described the incident that occurred Tuesday afternoon about 4 p.m. CDT. According to Ogborn, employees of Scoular Company in Grainton were moving a loaded hopper car of corn with a front-end loader. The car got away, ran through the derail and switch, then ran through a spur track and got on the main line heading east toward Wallace. "It's a highly, highly unusual occurrence for loose car to get on the main track," said Julie Heiliger, director of marketing and communications for Scoular Company in Des Moines, Iowa. "We load tens of thousands of cars each year and this has never before happened." Ogborn said the loose hopper car traveled 10-12 miles through two major crossings and several smaller crossings before smashing into an idle train waiting for a relief crew to show up and proceed toward Sterling, Colo. Elevator personnel paced the car along the road, and the pace car reached 60 mph, according to Ogborn. Upon impact with the first locomotive engine, the loaded hopper car split open, spewing its load of corn onto the engine and the track before landing in the west ditch alongside the elevated track east of Wallace where the railroad crosses Highway 23. The first locomotive is a total loss, said Ogborn. The second is being examined. There is no obvious external damage, but company officials are checking for internal damage. The 40 cars sitting on the track behind the two engines were unharmed. The damaged locomotive was moved off the track with heavy equipment by Thursday, June 9. The second engine was moved the next day and the track was predicted to be cleared and ready for use by 4 p.m. the afternoon of June 10. Scoular was expected to be back in business by late Friday also. "We don't know how the car got away," said Ogborn. A piece of equipment called a track mobile is usually used to move cars, but this time they were using a front end loader, he said. "That's not normal practice of a shipper. It's still being investigated," said Ogborn. According to an eyewitness to the crash, there was fuel spilled from the impact. Ogborn was unable to confirm that report, but said if fuel was spilled, it was very little. Hi-Line Co-op employee Kanen Hammond said he was working at the station in Wallace when he saw the loose car go zipping by. He jumped in his pickup to follow it and witnessed the crash. He said Hi-Line assisted in extracting remaining fuel from the damaged locomotive and helped clean up some spilled fuel. Costs of damage to the train and the track are not yet determined. Ogborn said NKC RailNet is putting together a safe practice presentation that will be given to all shippers along the rail line. Heiliger of Scoular said their company is also investigating the incident and will take appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence of what happened last week. "We are extremely grateful there were no injuries and that property damage was limited," she said. "We really have more questions than answers right now. Results of the investigation will help us understand what happened." View Original Post