(The Idaho State Journal posted the following article by John O’Connell on its website on April 11.)
POCATELLO — A train car overturned and killed a 54-year-old conductor Friday night after it struck a safety device on the track, a Union Pacific official said Saturday.
Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley was unsure if the victim’s family had been notified and would not release his name, but he said he was a long-time UP employee.
Bromley believes the man was clinging to a ladder on the side of a grain car at the rear of the train to help workers exchange cars before the 11 p.m. accident.
“He’s got a radio and tells them how far back to go,” Bromley said.
The train was reversing when it went too far and struck a derail, a clamp across the track designed to stop a train car and bump it off the track. Instead, the car tipped on the worker and spilled grain.
Bromley said the derail was in place to stop the train and keep it from rolling out of control onto a nearby out-of-service track.
Tracks are often taken out of service when they need repairs or when people are working on them to protect people and equipment.
Union Pacific managers are investigating the accident.
“To start a trip, they’re told which tracks are out of service,” Bromley said. “We believe this was in the instructions to the crew, but that will obviously be cleared up in the investigation.”
According to Union Pacific safety guidelines, trains must stop within 100 feet of a derail. Union Pacific uses portable and fixed derails.
“We’re always working to eliminate any injury accidents. We have an extensive set of rules designed to prevent that,” Bromley said. “In the investigation, we’ll see if there’s anything to consider to prevent future accidents of a similar nature.”
Bromley said Union Pacific fatalities are rare, and he can’t remember any previous fatality involving a derail.