Ouch - what a way to start a morning commute in a sleepy rural town on the edge of suburbia...
On my way into work this morning I noticed the railroad crossing barricaded with a train stopped across it. I thought that looked odd, so I looked down the track...
...there I saw the twisted wreckage of what was once a coal train.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but a number or coal cars were totaled and a good run of track pretty badly ripped up. It's fortunate that this was a coal train rather than something carrying chemicals - we get quite a few of those coming through the city, as well.
I have to say the BNSF folk were really quick on getting out to the scene and start the cleanup, although they have a huge job ahead of them. Once they clear the track they effectively need to rebuild it.
In the 12 or so years I've lived in this town I don't ever recall a derailment within the city limits - needless to say it generated a lot of excitement among the populace. There were quite a few rubberneckers and lookie-loos along the highway that runs parallel to this section of the line :-).
If any of y'all are train buffs, I've linked the photo above to my flickr page with all the photos I took of the incident...
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