Hello one and all!

just wondering if anyone here knows what caused the BNSF coal train derailment in Wayzata?

It happened right around where a branch line to Young America used to interchange. I cant remember the name of the branch, but its now a trail.

I would suspect that one of the cars "picked the switch".

Enquiring minds want to know (or at least guess)!

Dashing Dan

The GN branch went to Hutchinson, not Norwood/Young America. One of the CNW ex-M&STL lines from Hopkins went to Norwood where it crossed the MILW.

No official word yet on the cause of the derailment (and no time soon), but I can assure you it wasn't a picked switch. The train was traveling through the switch in a "trailing" position. My personal guess is a broken rail.

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I got to the derailment site a couple hours after it happened and snapped a bunch of photos over the next several days. I'm not an investigator or railroad employee. But I watch lots of TV, so I like to pretend. I agree with Mike's opinion as to the cause likely being broken rail, but I wonder if will we ever hear the official cause? Below are my unofficial observations and/or opinions.
http://johnhill_3009.rrpicturearchives. ... x?id=58126

On June 30, eastbound BNSF coal loads C-WTMSUH0-02 (Wyoming to Superior WI) derailed 17 cars somewhere in the middle of the train while accelerating from the passing siding onto the mainline through the trailing-point East Wayzata siding switch. DPU BNSF 9367 was pushing on the rear. Although the mainline is ribbonrail, the siding is jointed "non-bonded" rail with a speed limit about 25 MPH. I assume the train was traveling within that speed limit.

I believe the derailment started several hundred feet prior to reaching the East Wayzata switch. The first 5 derailed cars uncoupled from the rear of the train, staying upright and coupled as the front of the train continued pulling forward with emergency brakes beginning to set. The 4th and 5th derailed cars quickly uncoupled from the front and stopped upright as the front of the train continued dragging the other 3 upright derailed cars before coming to a complete stop. Several hundred feet of siding trackage were literally destroyed between the front and rear sections of the train. The 6th derailed car on the rear half of the train somehow dug in hard and stopped near the initial derailment location, triggering an "accordion" pileup of 12 trailing cars before the rear of the train came to a stop in emergency braking.

The pileup damaged and blocked the mainline as well as the passing siding and at least one of the former GN "Hutch" interchange yard tracks. No derailed cars reached the East Wayzata siding switch and the remaining siding trackage out to the West Wayzata switch also was undamaged.

John

Mike and John

thanx for the clarification! i once chased the local that ran out that line. I remember they had their shops in Spring Park. Ya had to love how a branch freight would trundle along at maybe 15 mph in front of the Lafayette Club! If I only had my camera DOH!

great pics. you can really see what a mess it was! it looked like they had the line back up in 4 days though, so it must be important.

I guess a broken rail can happen anywhere. It always looked like a well maintained line!

Prolly start hearing more complaints from wayzata about trains running through.

Dashing Dan