(The following article by Heather Koontz was posted on the Columbus Telegram website on May 12.)
COLUMBUS, Neb. — High winds blew railcars in two separate Union Pacific trains off the tracks early today in the Clarks area.
An empty westbound coal train had seven cars blown over around 12:30 a.m., and an empty intermodal train – one with stackable storage containers – lost six cars around 1:30 a.m. Both trains were stopping, because of high winds, about three miles apart on either side of Central City, according to Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis. It is protocol for trains to stop when tornado warnings are issued.
“It looks like they’re right there on the railroad right of way,” Davis said of the cars. “Either on the railroad tracks themselves or on railroad property.”
Merrick County Sheriff’s Office Manager Pat Wagner said no calls came in about the derailment, but an officer happened upon the situation while on patrol.
“An officer was going to check for any storm damage in the area and came upon it,” Wagner said.
Davis said the engineers knew something was wrong because the emergency brakes came on automatically, which he said is a safety feature.
“Once they determine there’s a problem, they contact the train dispatcher and a call tree begins then from the railroad,” Davis said.
There are three tracks in the area where the cars derailed. Davis said one track remained clear, while the clean up of the other two tracks is expected to be completed by this afternoon.
Davis said operations were “slow going” as a result of the incident.