Posted on 05/12/2002 8:16:53 PM PDT by Dallas
COLFAX, Calif. --
A train carrying non-hazardous chemicals derailed in northeast California and was partially suspended over a steep cliff Sunday night.
One of the train's 73 cars hung over a drop known as China Wall in a rural area away from people and homes, said Placer County Sheriff's Captain Rick Armstrong. No one was injured and authorities said the rail car was not in danger of falling.
One of the six cars that derailed contained non-hazardous byproducts and two were carrying an ammonia sulfate powder that is not dangerous by itself, Armstrong said.
The Burlington Northern & Santa Fe train was heading east when it derailed at about 2:30 p.m., said Michael Furtney, a spokesman for Union Pacific, which owns the tracks.
The California Forestry Department dispatched hazardous materials crews to the site, northeast of Sacramento.
"We've got people out there on the scene trying to secure all the cars and make sure none of them are leaking," Furtney said. "Given the location, it's fairly tricky."
Passengers on Amtrak's California Zephyr, bound for Emeryville from Chicago, were taken away on buses to continue their journey, said Tom Gambrel of Amtrak.
The voicemail box for a Burlington Northern spokeswoman was full Sunday.
The cause of the derailment was under investigation.
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press
I'm right between NYC and Newark, I didn't buy bait tonight because of the tornado watch. It is a bit unusual for the strength of the storms, but after the mild winter in the northeast, we are primed for mid-summer type thunderstorms. I know what you mean by it all being strange, but it is still within the norm (IMHO non-scientific but I'm out on the local ocean year-round so I watch the weather closely).
Not up there in Placer county. - Those tracks are on solid granite in most of the steep places, and they are also covered by sheds so the snow cannot build up on the tracks. - Derailments are ultra rare on that stretch.
It's nothing like Missouri either. - Placer gets the heaviest snow fall in North America; that's why the sheds.
It would seem so at a glance, but in reality, with fully mechanized maintenance, problems are rare. - It's an important line that they cannot allow to deteriorate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.