(The following story by Huey Freeman appeared on the Bloomington Pantagraph website on December 27.)
MONTICELLO, Ill. — Authorities in Monticello and Piatt County are investigating the derailment of 22 rail cars and the two locomotives of a Norfolk Southern train early Thursday in Monticello.
There were no injuries and authorities said it was fortunate the derailment happened on the outskirts of the city where damage to property was minimal.
Reports indicate the one-mile long freight train left the tracks in Monticello around 6 a.m. The incident occurred inside the city limits of Monticello, just south of Monroe Street and near the high school.
Electricity went out after sliding cars went down an embankment and took out several power poles. Half of Monticello was out of power for about four hours. A corridor between Monticello and Bement, including parts of Argenta and Oreana, were out of power for a shorter amount of time. Ameren officials said power has been restored to all areas.
There was no leakage from the rail cars, but the second locomotive was leaking diesel fuel. There were crews on the scene cleaning up the diesel spill, which was characterized as minor.
The cars were classified by the railroad as empty, but there was some residual grain spilled on the ground around the accident scene.
However, some of the rail cars were badly damaged as were the railroad tracks and ties. The two locomotives derailed but were upright and close to the tracks.
There was no immediate report of injuries.
Authorities say they have no idea what caused the derailment.
A crew from Indianapolis was en route to begin investigating the accident.