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Tracks cleared after ethanol cars derailed on Aug. 3

August 4, 2010

Derailed ethanol cars.
Derailed ethanol cars.

A potentially dangerous situation — derailment of 16 filled ethanol tank cars near Albion late Tuesday night, Aug. 3 — ended with no injuries and relatively moderate damage to railroad property last Friday.

A rail car recovery or “halter” crew from Illinois and Kansas had brought the last of the 16 cars upright on the tracks by Friday, Aug. 6, and repair crews from Nebraska Central Railroad were working on the tracks.

The main line track was re-opened by Monday.

The derailment of 16 cars that were part of an 80-car ethanol unit train, occurred at about 10:45 p.m. on Aug. 3 along the Nebraska Central tracks near the Cargill elevator, southeast of Albion.

Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Albion Fire and Rescue and Albion Police Department were first to respond. They set up an incident command at the fire station, and controlled traffic in the area overnight and into Wednesday. Local emergency personnel remained near the scene periodically throughout the recovery process.

The complete train was being moved at slow speed when the 16 cars slipped off the north side of the track and fell onto their sides. The cars had been filled at the Valero Renewable Fuels ethanol plant, which adjoins the Cargill elevator.

Minimal leakage of ethanol occurred in the derailment, and containers were used to catch any ethanol that leaked, said Chad Korth, manager of safety, training and rules with North Central Railroad. Recovery crews were on the scene by Wednesday morning, Aug. 4, to begin pumping down the derailed cars, lifting them and placing them back on the track.

Cause of the derailment was still under investigation and had not been determined as of Monday afternoon, according to Korth.

Written by jdickerson · Filed Under Feature