(The Associated Press circulated the following article on July 18.)
McKENZIE, N.D. — Twenty cars from a 110-car freight train hauling soybeans from Breckenridge, Minn., to Seattle derailed near this central North Dakota town, a BNSF Railway spokesman said.
Three locomotives were pulling the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train about 3:15 p.m. CDT Sunday when the cars jumped the single-line tracks about 20 miles east of Bismarck, said company spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle.
Cause of the derailment had not been determined Monday, Melonas said.
No injuries were reported, Burleigh County Sheriff’s Capt. Collin Rixen said.
“Just a lot of beans – nothing hazardous and nothing blocking the roads,” Rixen said. “Now it’s just a case of them moving the stuff.”
Trains were rerouted as railroad crews worked overnight to remove the derailed cars and spilled soybeans so the tracks could be repaired. Melonas said the tracks should be reopened by 7:30 p.m. Monday.
“It will take three to four weeks to remove all the debris, material and product from the site,” Melonas said.