(The following story by Stefanie Briggs appeared on The Dickinson Press website on December 6.)
HEBRON, N.D. — BNSF Railway officials continue to investigate the cause of a derailment here this past Thursday.
Seven coal cars on a train heading eastbound from Decker, Mont., derailed at about 2:40 a.m. on Nov. 29. Six of the seven loaded BNSF Railway cars were positioned on their side.
The derailed cars spilled about 700 tons of coal behind the Modern Grain maintenance building near Hebron’s Main Street. There were no injuries and no hazardous materials were involved.
The coal was destined for Mitchell, Neb., BNSF Railway Regional Director of Public Affairs Gus Melonas said.
“The material debris will be picked up from the site over the next three-week period,” Melonas said. “The line was opened up that day by 5:30 p.m. Central Time. All traffic flows have resumed.”
Crews were readily available and on site to enable restoration of the track and restore traffic movement, he added.
It does not appear at this time that weather was a factor in the derailment. BNSF is not speculating about a cause at this time.
Modern Grain Owner Tim Meuchel was unavailable for comment.