Train derails in Motley
MOTLEY - BNSF Railway crews were busy Friday cleaning up the mess after a train hit a set of railroad cars sitting on a siding in Motley and derailed.
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Motley Police Chief Gae Davis said no one was injured in the accident and no contaminated materials were found.
Steve Forsberg, BNSF spokesman in Kansas City, Kan., said the train derailment was reported at 2:45 a.m.
Forsberg said the BNSF train, which was empty, was heading west to pick up another load of coal in Wyoming, when it crashed into a set of railroad cars on the siding. Forsberg said two locomotives and 10 railroad cars derailed along with eight of the parked railroad cars.
A BNSF train hit a set of parked railroad cars Friday in Motley, causing two locomotives and 12 cars to derail. The derailment was reported at 2:45 a.m. and BNSF crews were busy cleaning up the mess into the afternoon.
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Forsberg said the switch was not aligned properly, which is why the train went from the main track to the siding.
Forsberg said the train derailment is under investigation, which will take several weeks to complete.
The train derailment closed Highway 10 in Motley for a few hours and traffic was detoured at the two railroad crossings in town. The highway re-opened at 5:15 a.m.
n minutes of the crash.
BNSF crews were busy cleaning up the mess Friday in Motley after a train hit a set of parked railroad cars on a siding.
Brainerd Dispatch/Jennifer Stockinger» Purchase reprints of this photo.
Motley Fire Chief Troy Davis, who lives about a block away from the train tracks, said he heard the crash. Davis said authorities were at the scene withi
Davis said the last time there was a big train accident in Motley was in 1984 when two trains collided head-on and killed three people.
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Gae Davis said that all the agencies worked together to get the situation under control and to make sure everyone was safe.
Assisting the Motley fire and police departments were the Morrison and Todd County sheriff departments, State Patrol, North Memorial ambulance and the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.