(The Amarillo Globe-News posted the following article by Kay Ledbetter on its website on June 17.)
PAMPA, Tex. — Twenty rail cars jumped the track going into the Celanese plant west of Pampa on Monday, and while no coal was spilled or injuries incurred, U.S. Highway 60 was closed for about three hours.
The wheels of the 100-car coal train became stuck on a portion of twisted rail on the Celanese property, causing the cars to jump off track at about 3:30 p.m., said Ila Miller, Celanese senior human resources official.
Miller said a portion of the train already had entered the Celanese facility and the rest was running across U.S. Highway 60 and onto the main track.
She said Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway officials were on the scene to help move the cars.
“We’re straddling the highway now and we’re moving train cars both directions to get the highway back open,” Miller said, adding that Celanese will be making repairs to its section of track to get the rest of the coal into the plant.
Celanese receives trains about three times a month, she said. The coal is used to fuel the plant.
Burlington Northern spokesman Joe Faust said no hazardous materials were spilled and all the train cars remained upright.
The derailment caused temporary service interruptions on the mainline track, as well as the highway, he said, but crews had both open Monday night.
BNSF uses a combination of cranes and distributive power locomotives to get the cars back on the track, Faust said.