(The following article was posted on the Duluth News Tribune website on May 26.)
DULUTH, Minn. — A bad coupler is believed to have been the cause of a train derailment that forced an evacuation in Solon Springs last month, according to Union Pacific Railroad officials.
A coupler malfunctioned, which forced 15 cars from the tracks April 14, said Gene Hinckler, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad. A coupler is a mechanism that locks two train cars together.
A final report has not been filed with the Federal Railroad Administration and details of the coupler problem are not yet available.
After the train derailed, the resulting blaze forced residents living within a half-mile of the accident site near Business Highway 53 to evacuate for several hours after emergency officials discovered a sealed tank car with petroleum residue amid the burning cars.
Firefighters from 10 volunteer departments also were forced to evacuate for about three hours because of concerns the tank car would heat up and act as a missile.
When fire crews returned to the scene, they fought the blaze through the night.
Residents were allowed to return home after 10 p.m. that night.
Union Pacific was operating the train on Canadian National tracks running parallel to Business Highway 53 when the accident occurred.
The train was traveling about 44 mph when the accident occurred, Hinckler said. Trains are allowed to travel up to 50 mph through that area, he said.
Village officials, concerned about the speed of trains along the tracks, asked the Douglas County Board to adopt a resolution seeking cooperation from railroad officials to slow trains traveling through Solon Springs.