Freight derailment on BNSF mainline in Montana affects 3,000 Amtrak passengers

West Central Tribune ^ | December 30, 2008 | News Staff

[An Old Man]

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – Holiday travel for more than 3,000 Amtrak rail passengers was disrupted when 16 rail cars carrying new automobiles derailed over the weekend in northwestern Montana.

Crews were still working Monday night to rerail the cars and reopen the Burlington Northern Santa Fe main line.

The derailment caused Amtrak to cancel its eastbound Empire Builder passenger train between Seattle and Minneapolis on Sunday and the westbound train between those cities Monday, said Vernae Graham, an Amtrak spokeswoman in Oakland, Calif.

She said other Empire Builder trains along the route were delayed, including one that was 22 hours late and another that was delayed 16 hours.

“We’re talking in the ballpark between 3,000 and 4,000 passengers” who were affected by the cancellations and delays, Graham said Monday night.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas, in Seattle, said seven rail cars ended up on their sides in about three feet of snow when the 16 rail cars derailed at midafternoon Saturday. He said the condition of the automobiles is still being assessed and said he could not give a dollar estimate of the damage.

“Wrecking equipment and 35 people are on site,” Melonas said in a telephone interview. “Dozers, Cats, front-end loaders, excavators were brought in to rerail the cars.

As of early Monday seven cars had been rerailed, Melonas said.

The 16 cars derailed near Essex, just outside the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. They were part of a 47-car BNSF freight train loaded with autos en route from Chicago to Seattle.

[An Old Man]

I did a search for this by title and found nothing.

Anyone interested in a brand new car from the scratch and dent pile?

[MetalHeadConservative35]

thats the marias pass route aint it?

[okie01]

thats the marias pass route aint it?

Yes. The one-time Great Northern.

[MetalHeadConservative35]

ive gone through that route on microsoft’s train simulator nice scenery but i can see easily how it could be dangerous.

[EagleUSA]

Amtrak — another government-subsidized disaster.

[CedarDave]

Kinda dated — happened last Monday night (12/29). But thanks for posting.

[CedarDave]

Whoops, even earlier — Saturday or Sunday. Article doesn’t specify.

[ConorMacNessa]

"The 16 cars derailed near Essex, just outside the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. They were part of a 47-car BNSF freight train loaded with autos en route from Chicago to Seattle."

The derailed cars were BNSF, not Amtrak.

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[mtnwmn]

Well, maybe so, but this is the first I’ve heard of it.

[An Old Man]

Yes it is! I suspect it happened on the “S” curves just south of Essex.

[CedarDave]

Saturday afternoon

Advice to myself — read, think, then remove foot from keyboard before posting.

Sorry

[kms61]

GM operatives derailed the train, in a bid to reduce their automobile inventory...

[gorush]

Jim Taggart was unavailable for comment.

[Don Carlos]

Grand opening, Essex, Montana Pull-a-Part.

[EGPWS]

Holiday travel for more than 3,000 Amtrak rail passengers was disrupted when 16 rail cars carrying new automobiles derailed over the weekend in northwestern Montana.

Anyone asking for a government bailout yet?

[Paladin2]

I saw the aftermath of a BNSF coal train derailment in Bozeman Pass last winter. It took a couple of days to scoop up all the coal, push the “recycleable” Aluminum cars that were scrap out of the way, rerail the OK ones and fix the track.

[EGPWS]

I saw the aftermath of a BNSF coal train derailment

A coal train is one hell of a heavy load....

[Who is John Galt?]

The one-time Great Northern.

Way back when, I always traveled on the Northern Pacific...

;>)

[reg45]

The derailed cars were BNSF, not Amtrak.

True, but the passenger trains which have been delayed are all Amtrak.

[okie01]

How did the North Coast Limited exceed the Empire Builder? And how did they compare to the Olympic Hiawatha?

I had no experience with this route.