Thirty rail cars slip off tracks near 3M plant
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A half-dozen train cars ended up in the Mississippi River Saturday (March 19) afternoon after a freight train derailed near the 3M plant in Cottage Grove, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. The 112-car train was heading south on tracks owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe when 30 cars slipped off just after 2 p.m., said Cottage Grove Fire Chief Bob Byerly. No one was injured in the derailment. Rail cars involved in the derailment were either empty or carrying wood pulp or seed, Byerly said. None of the material spilled into the river at the crash site, southwest of the River Oaks Golf Course. The cause is under investigation, and the accident has been reported to the National Transportation Safety Board. Crews were still clearing the derailed vehicles Saturday night. (The preceding article by Maja Beckstrom was published March 20, 2004, by the St. Pail Pioneer Press.)
March 21, 2005
(From the UTU site)
So now it is BNSF turn to make derailment news. [:o)]
[quote]
Originally posted by jeaton
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Gee, go straight to the NTSB and ignore FRA…unique[:-^]…The only thing slipping is the reporter’s brain (Probably stuck in neutral[:D])
[banghead][banghead][banghead]
Slipped off the tracks eh??? I can’t wait to read the report on this one, lol
Was probably told that the incident had been reported to federal authorities, and that’s the only one he knew that had to do with transportation. Wanted: a Clue. Reward Offered.
…Saw an aerial view of this derailment on TV Saturday…Cars looked like they were very close to going into the river.
…maybe there was a carload of banana peels with a hole in the floor…
According to the Newswire (I think this is the same derailment), this was an IC&E train on BNSF tracks, and it was 23 cars, not 30, that derailed.
(I’d seen the report on the UTU site, too, and wondered at the terminology.)
i think your taking the word slip a little to literly!!! the way im reading the artical . the word slip was used to give it a little bit of a differnt flavor then the same old “train jumped the tracks…or train wrecks” story…i give the reporter credit for breaking with the useal way of doing it…
csx engineer
csx You’re right. Maybe those cars just eased off the rails rather than jumping around like a bunch of ping-pong balls. Who knows, might get the general public a little more careful around trains. Look out! Those tracks are pretty slick!!
Jay
I wonder if any of the cars held up a sign that said “YIKES” as it slide off.
Doh!