Web posted
Monday, January 14, 2008
Train derails near Augusta
By SYDNEY BLAND
Traveler Staff Writer
An Ark City train engineer helped with the rescue efforts in a three-train collision near Augusta that backed up train traffic for several hours in Ark City.
The accident happened around 6 a.m. Saturday when a southbound train ran into the rear of another southbound train stopped on the Burlington Northern-Santa
Fe track near 85th Street and Cheyenne Road in Augusta.
Thirty-nine cars derailed. The two crewmen who were taken to a Wichita hospital with superficial lacerations have been released and are expected to recover fully.
"The accident caused cars to derail from a northbound train on an adjacent
track," Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy said. "No hazardous materials were involved, and all train crew members have been accounted for."
According to local trainmen, train traffic through Ark City was halted for
approximately 10 hours. Four northbound trains -- two in Ponca City and
two in Newkirk -- were "staged up" or backed up and could not get through
the area. Ark City engineer Mike Shaw was sent to help with the train accident late Saturday. A back log of trains played catch up all day Sunday.
The cause of the accident has yet to be determined. It won't take long to find out what caused the collision, said an Ark City BNSF engineer.
"A mechanism similar to an airplane's black box is on board every train," he said. "A camera is mounted inside every locomotive cab; as well as GPS systems. Everything -- every movement and word is recorded somewhere."
Reverse 911 was used to alert citizens in the area of the derailment, said
Murphy.
"When it was confirmed that there were no hazardous materials involved and there was no more threat of danger, the reverse 911 was utilized again to give the 'All Clear' to area residents," he added.
Derailment service firms and equipment were at the scene by mid-morning
Saturday to begin clearing debris from the tracks. The clean-up is expected to last several days.
Trains from Kansas City to the west coast were affected by the derailment,
said several local BNSF employees. All southbound traffic through the area
was slowed due to only two southbound routes from Kansas City.
Arkansas City crews were put on hold.
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