(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Dave Kolpack on August 6.)
MAPLETON, N.D. — A pile of coal and twisted metal stood near a rail crossing here after 39 coal cars derailed, sending a cloud of black smoke over town.
Authorities said no one was hurt when the 122-car eastbound Burlington Northern-Santa Fe train, heading from the Powder River Basin to Superior, Wis., derailed about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
“All I could see was this huge cloud of black,” said Duane O’Marro, who lives about two blocks from the tracks. “We’re real lucky. I could see that smoke drifting … and if it would have been anhydrous ammonia, it would have covered the whole town.”
A deadly train derailment west of Minot on Jan. 18, 2002, spilled anhydrous ammonia, killing one person and sending hundreds of people to the hospital with breathing problems and burns.
No chemicals
The coal train that derailed Tuesday carried no hazardous chemicals, authorities said. Mapleton, about 10 miles west of Fargo, has a population of about 600.
The coal train had three locomotives and was carrying 120 loads of coal, BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said. It blocked both main lines and forced in-town traffic to be rerouted, he said. Each car can hold more than 100 tons of coal.
Mapleton Fire Chief Doug Saari, who runs a repair shop next to the tracks, saw the derailment.
“All of a sudden I heard a big rumble, clatter and bang … and it didn’t sound right,” Saari said. “I looked out the door and saw a big cloud of dust or smoke. Then I saw the cars start folding up.
“It was something I didn’t want to see.”
Saari dialed 911, then drove his pickup to the front of the train to check on the two members. They were shook up, but not hurt, Saari said.
“It had to be scary,” Saari said.
Railroad officials had not determined the cause or the amount of spillage, Melonas said. Repair crews should begin replacing track this morning and both lines should be open by afternoon, he said.
“Crews will work throughout the day and night, moving cars from the site and assessing the mechanical damage,” Melonas said.
Third this year
It was the third BNSE coal train derailment in North Dakota this year. In March, 19 cars of a coal train derailed and spilled on the outskirts Richardton, a town of about 600 people, about 90 miles west of Bismarck. In July, 36 cars derailed near the state prison in Bismarck.
“I worry about something like this every day,” Saari said. “There are a lot of trains that come through here, a lot of mixed loads, and you just don’t know what’s in there.”