(The following appeared on the Kansas City Star website on September 17.)
KANSAS CITY. Mo. — Union Pacific called in cleanup crews tonight after a train loaded with automobiles derailed east of Sugar Creek.
The train derailed about 5 p.m., sending 26 cars off the tracks, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.
Of the train’s 59 cars, roughly half were carrying automobiles and the other half were empty, Davis said. It was en route from Fairfax to East St. Louis.
The train’s engineer and conductor were the only people on board, and neither was injured.
Davis said the cause of the derailment had not been determined this evening. He said railroad investigators and heavy equipment to pick up the cars would arrive throughout the night.
The Union Pacific train was traveling on BNSF tracks near Eton station, BNSF spokesman Steve Forsberg said. He said there were double tracks in the area and that initial reports indicated one set was blocked while the other remained open.