(The Lacrosse Tribune posted the following story by Linda McAlpine on its website on April 1.)
LACROSSE, Wisc. — Joe Houzner could only shake his head after seven cars from a CP Rail System train derailed Monday night on La Crosse’s North Side.
Houzner, the train’s conductor, surveyed several hopper cars leaning at an angle, spilling part of the 108 tons of grain each carried. He checked and rechecked the list of cars that were supposed to be in the 62-car train.
“There was supposed to be a hazardous (material) car in between those two hopper cars,” Houzner said. “It’s not there, though, and I guess tonight that’s a real good thing.”
The derailment, which happened about 6:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of George Street, involved nine railroad cars. A flatbed car, several hoppers and standard boxcars went off the rails and tipped into a couple of cars on an adjacent track.
There were no delays for Amtrak, as one line is completely open, Houzner said.
A couple of city intersections on Avon Street, however, might be closed for a day to two until the derailed cars can be cleared, as it takes heavy equipment to move cars that weigh about 35 tons when empty.
The train was on its way to Portage, Wis., from St. Paul, and had stopped in the rail yard here to take on two more locomotives, Houzner said.
“We had just started out, maybe gone only three or four car lengths, when I noticed that the train was pulling harder than usual,” he said.
Houzner said he believes some unauthorized person threw the switch, which caused the derailment once the train started to move again. No one was injured in the derailment.