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Posted: Monday, 02 November 2009 6:14AM
Two trains, one full of grain, derail in Northbrook
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WBBM TRAFFIC CENTER
NORTHBROOK, Ill. (STNG/CBS) -- No serious injuries were reported when two freight trains derailed in Northbrook Sunday afternoon, but a road near the scene may be closed for up to two days.
The incident happened about 3:15 p.m., when 18 cars derailed south of Willow Road and north of the Shermer Road bridge. A southbound train derailed and collided with a passing northbound train, causing it to derail as well, according to Northbrook officials.
Shermer Road between Willow Road in Northbrook and West Lake Avenue in Glenview will be closed to 24 to 48 hours as crews remove the derailed cars and debris on the roadway, officials said.
Willow Road is open, but gapers blocks may be severe.
Metra commuter rail services will not be affected, Metra spokeswoman Meg Reile said.
Northbrook Fire Chief Mark Nolan said two separate freight trains were moving in opposite directions when they made contact in the middle.
One witness had just driven under the viaduct when the freight car crashed to the street.
"I went under the viaduct, and about maybe two minutes after I left the viaduct, I heard a loud bang," said witness Ellen Hoffman. "I saw smoke. It was just a tremendous amount of smoke. But I first had heard a loud crash."
Officials aren't saying what caused the derailment yet, but one man who said he had been monitoring railroad radio traffic said he heard discussion of a loose coupler. That is the mechanism that joins railroad cars together. That is one avenue that is being investigated at this time.
Northbrook Deputy Fire Chief Ron Schinleber said damaged train cars were bumped off the tracks on both sides of Shermer and were resting on the viaduct over the road as well. The wreckage covered four blocks.
The southbound train had 14 cars come off the track, and the northbound train lost four, according to Northbrook Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Richards.
Between both trains, there were three people on board and no injuries reported, Richards said.
Northbrook Village President Sandra Frum said at least one of the trains was hauling grain, which spilled out of the cars when the train derailed. Neither train was carrying any hazardous materials.
“I’m sure the geese will love it,” Frum said.
Richards said that if anything else was on the trains, it was not spotted on the scene. “There is grain everywhere,” Richards said. “If it had been sand we could have had a nice beach.”
Union Pacific Railroad’s spokesperson Mark Davis confirmed the derailment happened on a Union Pacific track, and the train belongs to Canadian Pacific Railway.
Canadian Pacific spokesman Jeff Johnson said the southbound train was carrying grain and clay, and the northbound train cars that derailed were empty.
Canadian Pacific is investigating the incident, Johnson said.
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Contents of this site are Copyright 2009 by WBBM. The STNGwire contributed to this report.
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