(The following report by D.E. Smoot appeared on the Muskogee Daily Phoenix Staff website on March 2.)
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — BNSF Railway employees worked into the darkness in an effort to clear three coal cars that derailed Wednesday just north of Eufaula Street on North 43rd Street East.
Muskogee Emergency Management Director Jimmy Moore said the railroad cars nearly toppled when the track gave way beneath the weight of the train. He said the derailment occurred at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A BNSF Railway crew based in Tulsa were on the scene within hours of the derailment. Bulldozers fitted with lifts and booms were used to lift the railroad cars upright and ferry them to an area where the tracks were in better shape.
According to workers at the scene Wednesday night, about 300 feet of track will have to be replaced after the railroad cars are uprighted and moved.
City of Muskogee street crews were standing by to make necessary road repairs at the railroad crossing.
The cause of the derailment was unavailable Wednesday night. And railroad workers would not comment about how long the track would be out of service.
BNSF Railway public information officials referred inquiries to officials in another department. They were unable to provide details about how long the track would be out of service.
BNSF Railway workers were able to disconnect and remove a string of railroad cars from the three cars that derailed and blocked automobile traffic on North 43rd Street East into a residential area.