(The following article by Robert Cook was posted on the Salt Lake Tribune website on June 20.)
MILFORD, Utah — Two trains derailed early Saturday at a Union Pacific Railroad switching site in Millard County — the same place a freight train derailed last winter.
Saturday’s accident occurred 30 miles south of Delta near state Route 257 at 2 a.m., when the driver of a northbound train apparently failed to notice warning lights that indicated it should wait for a southbound train to clear the main line. The northbound train sideswiped the southbound train, knocking several southbound cars off the tracks before the northbound engine derailed, bringing both trains to a halt.
The northbound train pulled 75 cars, most of them empty automobile carriers bound for Salt Lake City. The southbound train had 25 cars, mostly loaded with lumber, bound for Las Vegas and Los Angeles. No hazardous materials were involved.
“We were very fortunate that no one was hurt,” said John Bromley, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad. “It appears that the northbound went through the warning lights advising him to wait for the southbound to clear the main line.”
By sunrise Saturday, Union Pacific’s damage control team was clearing the wreckage. Trucks carried in bulldozers, cranes and new rails to replace the damaged track. There was even a kitchen and cook crew, providing workers with meals of eggs, hash-brown potatoes and plate-sized ham steaks.
The accident is still under investigation by Union Pacific’s damage prevention team and it will be sending a report to the National Transportation and Safety Board.
By 5 p.m. the wreckage had been cleared and the tracks were expected to be opened by 8 p.m., Bromley said.
“We don’t have a cost report on damage or loss of income,” said Bromley, “With about 20 trains a day traveling through this area, it will be expensive.”