(The following report appeared at Bend.com on October 26.)
CHEMULT, Ore. — Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway crews worked through the night to finish track repairs and reopen Central Oregon’s north-south rail line Tuesday morning, about 30 hours after two locomotives and five cars on a southbound freight train derailed about seven miles north of Chemult.
The first freight train on the reopened line, heading from Pasco, Wash., to Barstow, Calif., passed through the area at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle.
The cause of Monday’s 2:30 a.m. derailment remains under investigation, Melonas said.
The derailed cars and locomotives were at the rear of the train, which had a total of five locomotives and 71 loaded cars. It originated in Everett, Wash., and was destined for Barstow, Calif., Melonas said.
There were no injuries or hazardous materials involved in the incident, Melonas said.
The two derailed locomotives remained upright after jumping the tracks, as did two of the five rail cars, Melonas said. Two of the three cars that toppled onto their sides were carrying lumber and the third contained paper, as did the two upright cars, he said.
The derailed locomotives were put back on the tracks, while the five cars remain off to the side for further mechanical assessment, Melonas said Tuesday. “The only spillage was two bundles of 2-by-4s,” he added.