(The following article by Mike Anderson was posted on the Waco Tribune-Herald website on September 21.)
CRAWFORD, Texas — Phillip Nelms was sitting on his back porch watching a train pass through downtown Tuesday evening when something went terribly wrong.
“My neighbor and I were sitting under that tree when there was suddenly this loud rumble,” said Nelms, 44. “This yellow box car went flying up into the air, and all the other cars started running into it, backing up sideways off the track. One rolled to the side and hit a pole, and our power went out. We weren’t sure what to do.”
A few dozen yards from Nelms’ back door, a southbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad freight train jumped the track about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, sending 23 cars off the rails. One spilled a corrosive chemical, causing officials to evacuate about 300 people from around the crash site.
A day later, the quiet burg that has learned to adjust to the occasional hubbub during presidential visits, has mostly returned to normal after the derailment. Residents were allowed to return to their homes, power was restored and both the rail line and Farm-to-Market Road 185 have reopened.
Meanwhile, railway officials continued to search for answers Wednesday as to what caused the train to wreck and spill a potentially dangerous chemical. Railroad officials identified the corrosive liquid as ethanolamine, a compound used in making herbicides, cosmetics, metal cleaners and textiles.
Nelms said he initially didn’t realize that anything had spilled from the train, until he saw what appeared to be white smoke and he began to smell an ammonia-like odor about 30 minutes after the crash. A few minutes, later a friend came by and told him the area was being evacuated.
“We decided to get out of there pretty quick,” Nelms said.
Crawford Police Chief Donnie Tidmore said his officers and a cadre of volunteers went door-to-door telling people within a half-mile of the crash site to leave the area. A regional hazardous materials unit was called to the scene to help contain the spill, said County Emergency Management Coordinator Frank Patterson.
Tidmore said the remaining chemicals were removed from the damaged rail car and taken away by a tanker truck.
Crawford fire officials said ethanolamine is not an airborne agent, but can burn if it gets on skin. Both city and railroad officials said no one was injured in the incident, including the two-person crew on the train when it derailed.
By 10 p.m. Tuesday, residents were allowed to return to their homes. But near the tracks at the Crawford Coffee Station, the evacuation ended too late to save the dinner rush, said Vicki Martin, restaurant cashier.
“It took out our whole dinner, which starts about 6,” Martin said. “We were going to have a catfish dinner special, and we had bought all that fish. That’s a real popular special.”
Martin said fortunately the manager was able to keep the fish iced down, and it was due to make an appearance on the menu Wednesday.
Cause undetermined
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe team was investigating the incident, but the crash’s cause had not been determined late Wednesday, said railroad spokesman Joseph Faust. The company also had a hazardous materials team at the site to determine the extent of soil contamination. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have also examined the crash site, Patterson said.
“As you can imagine, because this is the president’s home, we are getting a lot of interest on this,” Faust said.
Faust said the railroad line is one of his company’s main freight routes. Several trains were delayed during the 18 hours the tracks were closed.
The accident also caused Amtrak to cut short its southbound Texas Eagle passenger train service, which had been due to arrive in McGregor on the same line during the evening. Passengers were transferred to buses at Fort Worth and then driven to the remaining stops on the route, which continues past McGregor to San Antonio, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.
The Wednesday afternoon northbound Texas Eagle was not expected to be delayed, Magliari said.
After 20 hours working at the accident site, Tidmore was relieved Wednesday afternoon to have a chance to rest.
“I’m going home; I’m about ready to lay my head down,” he said.