Creamed corn
LOREN BENOIT/Press BNSF employees canvass the scene of a train loaded with corn which derailed south of Cocolalla on Monday in Bonner County. No injuries have been reported. The crash is under investigation.
LOREN BENOIT/Press Frank Zimmerman owner of Valley Vista Ranch and a BNSF employee walk the scene of a derailed train next to Zimmerman’s property Monday morning south of Cocolalla in Bonner County.
LOREN BENOIT/Press A BNSF employee takes a call at the scene of a derailed train accident Monday morning south of Cocolalla. No injuries have been reported. The crash is under investigation.
LOREN BENOIT/Press A BNSF employee speaks with Valley Vista Ranch owner Frank Zimmerman Monday morning at the scene of a derailed train next to Zimmerman’s property. The train was carrying corn.
LOREN BENOIT/Press A truck driver records a video while driving by the scene of a derailed train Monday morning near Cocolalla.
COCOLALLA — More than 20 hopper cars hauling corn derailed early Monday morning at Cocolalla Flats, according to BNSF Railway officials.
There were no injuries or hazardous material releases after the cars jumped the tracks on the four-lane stretch of U.S. Highway 95 at approximately 6 a.m., said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas.
“They are shoving the damaged cars off to the side. There are between 25 and 27 cars that derailed. We’re assessing the damage, but a large majority of them will be scrapped on site over the next three-week period,” Melonas said.
The derailment thinned the four-lane section of highway to two lanes while front-end loaders scooped up buckets of corn and railroad track ballast rock that spilled onto the highway.
“There was some corn from the spillage and some of the base rock from the railroad bed that spilled out into the highway when the crash occurred,” said Bob Howard, director of emergency management for Bonner County.
Howard confirmed there were no hazardous materials released during the derailment.
“It was all corn,” he said.
The procession of 110 train cars were being hauled by three locomotives traveling from St. Cloud, Minn., to Kalama, Wash., according to BNSF. The derailment occurred on a stretch of track that sees 60 trains per day, including the Amtrak route that links Chicago to Seattle with stopovers in Sandpoint.
Melonas said crews are clearing the wreckage and repairing the tracks. Rail service is expect to be restored today.
“We’ll be working through the night, but the line will be opened tomorrow,” Melonas said on Monday.
The cause of the derailment remained under investigation on Monday.
“We’ve not determined an official cause at this point,” Melonas said.
The speed at which the train was traveling when it was derailed was also under investigation, although Melonas said it did not factor into the derailment.
“Speed was not an issue,” he said.