http://www.wisinfo.com/journal/spjlocal/283275243417012.shtml
Thu, Feb 17, 2005
Train derails, stalls main line
BY ANDREW DOWD
Journal staff
A train derailment early Wednesday morning caused minor local traffic
problems, but temporarily brought Canadian National’s main line to Chicago
to a standstill.
The 58-car train’s fourth car carrying Adams Lake lumber derailed on the
portion of the track parallel to Highway 10 and crossed Highway M between
Stevens Point and Junction City at 3:30 a.m. Traffic was blocked until 9:30
a.m.
At 10 a.m., two engines, a Norfolk Southern storage car and the lumber car
responsible for the derailment, were parked on the track between highways E
and M. The other cars had been uncoupled and backed onto unaffected tracks.
Crews from the railroad company were working at both train crossings to
repair the tracks and get the train cars moving again.
While local highway traffic was cleared within six hours, minor damage to
the tracks caused by the derailment kept the track itself closed the
majority of the day.
“It is blocking our main line and that is a problem for us,” said Jim
Kvedaras, senior manager of U.S. and public affairs for Canadian National
out of the company’s Chicago office.
The rear wheels on a lumber car were damaged, causing the derailment.
Canadian National officials are investigating the cause of the wheel damage,
Kvedaras said.
Stevens Point is on the railroad’s main line. Seven trains were delayed due
to the accident, which added one to 12 hours to their journeys depending on
their distance from the derailment.
Since the main line was expected to be cleared and repaired in the
afternoon, Kvedaras said trains were stopped and not diverted.
Since there were no injuries in the accident and railroad cre