(The following article by Kay Luna was posted on the Quad Cities Times website on June 23.)
CLINTON, Iowa — Several railroad workers toiled in the sun, pounding sections of track into place, while others used heavy equipment to move supplies behind a boundary of yellow caution tape.
Crews from the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad struggled all night to clean up after a train derailment Sunday afternoon in downtown Clinton that damaged about 400 feet of track and one rail crossing.
The loud hum of that work continued Monday after a fresh crew relieved the tired workers at 4th Avenue South and 1st Street, near Riverview Park’s playground area and a large city parking lot.
Officials still did not know Monday what caused the derailment, which spilled two rail cars loaded with lumber and toppled several other cars.
“It’s still under investigation,” said Tom Jared, the train operations manager in the railroad’s Davenport office. “When you have a mess like this, it takes a little time.”
No one was injured, and nothing hazardous or toxic was spilled when the train toppled about 2 p.m. Sunday.
Jared said the damaged track will be replaced by prefabricated sections of track, which workers were laying into place Monday.
He said repairs also include realigning the track and replacing gravel in the area.