(The following article by Bryan Schultz was posted on the Marshalltown Times Republican website on February 8.)
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — The derailment of two tankers from a Union Pacific train Monday caused one Marshalltown business to be temporarily evacuated and one crossing to be closed.
At approximately 5 a.m., firefighters from the Marshalltown Fire Department were dispatched to the railroad tracks approximately two blocks west of Center Street near the Community Y because two tanker cars from a train derailed.
One of the cars contained the fuel additive ethanol and the other corn syrup, but Marshalltown Fire Chief Larry Squiers said there was little danger, although Cessford Ready Mix was evacuated during the process of righting the tanks as a precaution.
“We just laid down a blanket of suppressive foam while they [railroad workers] turned them upright,” he said.
Squiers said the tank containing ethanol did have a small leak that was repaired and he estimated less than five gallons of ethanol escaped from the tank.
The derailment occurred shortly before 4 a.m., Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said. According to Davis, the railroad will have to replace approximately 300 feet of track due to the incident with the 89-car train.