(The following article by Shannon Darling was posted on the Viasalia Times-Delta website on August 16.)
ALLENSWORTH, Calif. — Crews worked through the weekend to clean up a train derailment in Allensworth that sent a locomotive and 39 freight cars off the tracks, ignited fires and spilled corn syrup.
The northbound train came off the tracks at 3:40 p.m. Saturday and struck another freight train on the side tracks, derailing two of its locomotives and a car, said Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokeswoman Lena Kent.
The train also started several grass fires as a result of the accident, closed down Highway 43 and blocked the entrance to the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park.
The fire threatened many of the park’s historic buildings, but none was damaged and no injuries were reported.
“This was right in the heart of Allensworth,” said Battalion Chief Rich Stover of the Tulare County Fire Department. Allensworth is located about 10 miles southwest of Pixley and west of Highway 99.
In 1908, Allensworth was founded by Colonel Allen Allensworth and was the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. In 1976, it was named a state historic park.
As fire crews battled the grass fires Saturday, they were cautious to approach the train cars, many of them tankers, for fear they had hazardous chemicals.
The only tank car that ruptured contained corn syrup.
“There is corn syrup everywhere out here,” Stover said. “I had corn syrup up to my ankles.”
No hazardous materials were spilled.
The cause of the derailment is still unclear, according to Kent.
Fires ignited by the train burned 240 acres of grass land.
Fire crews kept the grass fire away from the historic buildings at the state park.
Highway 43 was closed for several hours Saturday, but Palmer Avenue remained closed until after 5 p.m. Sunday because it was blocked by train cars. Palmer Avenue is the main entrance into the state park.
While crews hurriedly rebuilt railroad tracks and pulled disabled cars free from the tracks, Amtrak passengers had to find a different mode of transportation between Fresno and Bakersfield.
A spokeswoman for Amtrak said passengers were taken by bus between Fresno and Bakersfield until after 5 p.m. when the side tracks were cleared. The main track is expected to be cleared early this morning.