(The following article was posted on the North Platte Telegraph website on November 22.)
OGALLALA, Neb. — Seven cars in a 67-car Union Pacific train derailed three blocks west of downtown Ogallala early Monday.
The train was westbound on its way to Long Beach, Calif., at 12:56 a.m. MST.
According to company spokesman John Bromley, the cars derailed as the train crossed from one track to another.
The cars were hauling automobiles and trucks.
Bromley expected there to be substantial damage done to the automobiles in the cars that had turned over in the train derailment.
The derailment blocked both railroad lines. Crews worked to clean up the scene all day Monday, and had hoped to have one of the lines open by mid afternoon.
When the train derailed it punctured a silo at the Farmers COOP. More than 30,000 bushels of corn began pouring out of the silo.
Bromley said there were no injuries in the train derailment.
Hauling automobiles and trucks makes up eleven percent of all the UPRR’s revenue.
The train was made up of a mixture of different cars, including some refrigerator cars.
Bromley said they would be turning the damage over to the freight claims department.