(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 15.)
FORT MADISON, Iowa — Several cars of a coal train derailed early Friday morning, dumping about 1,600 tons of coal onto the ground and closing the tracks until the mess was cleaned up, railroad officials said.
A locomotive and 22 cars of the BNSF train derailed just before 2 a.m., spokesman Steve Forsberg said.
He said the locomotive and six of the cars remained upright. Sixteen cars, each carrying more than 100 tons of coal, toppled over, spilling the coal onto the ground, Forsberg said.
The 130-car train was headed to the St. Louis area from the Powder River basin area in Wyoming, he said.
No one was injured.
Crews were working Friday to clean up the mess and clear the tracks, which were expected to reopen early today, Forsberg said.
The cause of the derailment was under investigation.