Montana Derailment
Sep 28, 2004

Train Derailment Spills 5,000 Tons of Wheat

Forty-two cars of a 109-car grain train derailed Monday about six miles south of here, spilling tons of wheat along the tracks but injuring no one. Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas said the derailment just north of the Marias River may have spilled as much as 5,000 tons of grain. He said each car was loaded with 120 tons of wheat. He said railroad investigators have not determined cause. Cleanup crews totaling about 60 workers, from Billings, Havre and Gillette, Wyo., were using special equipment and vacuum machines to clean up the grain, while huge tractors with side booms moved the cars off the tracks for salvage.