(The Macomb Daily posted the following article by Stephen W. Huber on its website on May 9.)
HOLLY, Mich. — Two 400,000-pound train engines were apparently no match for some 35-pound beavers and Mother Nature in Holly Township.
The two CSX engines and seven of the 22 cars they were hauling derailed early Wednesday after rail beds softened by heavy rains — and a build-up of water created by beaver dams — gave way.
“Apparently there was a beaver dam in the area that was backing up water in a field,” Holly police Chief Greg Hansmeier said. “For whatever reason, it gave and the water rushed out.”
Michigan State Police Lt. Douglas W. Lubahn said 30 acres of water to the east of the track compromised the railway bed. It was not clear whether water covered the tracks when the train passed, although CSX spokesman David Hall said the crew tried an “emergency” stop.
“Once that happened the water went nuts,” Lubahn said. “I’ve seen some of the logs from the railroad and there were definitely some beaver sticks. It’s not a figment of anyone’s imagination. Something caused that water to back up.”
State, federal and railroad officials were investigating the derailment.
An engine fell on each side of the tracks in the water and mud, with mangled cars strewn about behind, including two that were loaded with completed automobiles. Four rail cars containing propane were not damaged and were removed by another engine. The cab on one engine was partially submerged, Lubahn noted.
“The crew on the engine was lucky to get out,” he said. The train’s engineer and conductor, who were not identified, were treated for minor injuries at Genesys Medical Center in Grand Blanc Township. One of the men was expected to be kept in the hospital overnight for observation, Hall said.
A hazardous materials crew was called in to clean up the spill of diesel fuel from the engine’s 3,000-gallon fuel tanks. The derailment severed some fiber optic cable lines, interrupting 911 emergency telephone service to several cities, including Pontiac, Fenton and the state police post in Flint. Technicians were pulling the cables up by hand and replacing them on top of the ground to restore service, Lubahn said. Pontiac residents with a 373 exchange and a police emergency were to call (248) 857-7890.
The flooding in the area also caused the evacuation of several families, but they returned later in the day. Elliot Road was also closed as Oakland County road commission employees worked to replace a dirt road that had been washed away.
The Swartz Creek flows near the tracks. The accident scene was about half a mile off of North Holly Road between Elliot and Quick roads. The train originated in Saginaw and was headed south to suburban Toledo.
The maximum speed where the derailment happened was 50 mph, although the train was traveling at 35 mph because the speed through Holly is 25 mph, Hall said. Two of the cars carried automobiles and the others carried auto parts. It derailed at 1:13 a.m. Wednesday.
The track, which normally carries six or seven trains a day, was last inspected Monday at 2 p.m. The track was last used Tuesday at 3 p.m., Hall said.
More than a dozen flatbed trucks containing heavy equipment for the cleanup arrived from Toledo before 9 a.m. Workers spent the day constructing two roads to get access to the site so the derailed cars could be removed.
“We’ll move the cars to a field and unload the vehicles,” Hall said. “Once that is done, we will begin to repair the tracks and try to get the trains running again. It’s difficult to say when that might occur.”
The first police and rescue personnel arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. They saw the engineer and the conductor walking down the tracks toward them, said Lt. Jeremy Lintz of the North Oakland County Fire Authority.
“They were wet and muddy and cut up when we saw them …,” Lintz said. “It was pitch black. Nobody could hear, there weren’t any sounds. The engines were shut down. We took out our flashlights … All you could see were shadows of steel cars piled on top of each other.
“All you can say is, ‘Wow.’ It’s just a big mess.”
By coincidence, the fire authority, area police departments and Oakland County Emergency Response and Preparedness division had an exercise a month ago at Holly High School to prepare for such an emergency, Lintz said.
A quarter mile from the scene, Steven and Beth Rahn, whose property backs up to the railroad tracks, entertained emergency workers who trampled their neatly manicured lawn.
Rahn awoke early Wednesday to see a sea of rescue workers in his yard and the cul-de-sac where he lives.
“Everyone was amazed we didn’t wake up,” Steven Rahn said. Rahn said he noticed the water was almost to the top of the tracks last week. “It kept getting higher and higher,” he said.
Mark Zabaldo, who lives next door to the Rahns, stood in his driveway and watched as a bulldozer cut a path through his lawn.
An insurance claims adjuster stopped by Zabaldo’s home and asked for permission to put a road through his property to reach the damaged train. Tandem gravel haulers dumped thousands of pounds of rock to create the road where grass grew hours earlier.
A small pond and rock garden stood barely five feet from the path, but Zabaldo didn’t seem too concerned it might be destroyed. He was about to get a new yard.
“Everything is fair game,” Zabaldo said with a smile.