Explosive Derailment in Small Illinois Town

Train derailments are not an uncommon occurrence in the railroad industry, but as a recent October 7, derailment showed; some train derailments create more wreckage than others. At around 2:00 a.m. on Friday, the small town of Tiskilwa, Illinois, witnessed a freight train derailment with explosions fit for a Hollywood film.  A 131-car freight train traveling from Rock Island to Chicago was nearing its final destination, when it derailed around 100 miles outside of Chicago. In total 26 cars derailed. A video of raw footage provided by the Chicago Tribune reveals the aftermath of the accident: railcars seemingly stacked on top of one another off of the tracks, several container cars engulfed in fire, smoke bellowing into the sky and local fire crews attempting to subdue the flames. Although the train was carrying a variety of goods, the cause for the massive explosions was ethanol, a highly flammable gas, which was being carried in several rail cars.  Witnesses describe the flames at the scene shooting as high as 100 or 200 feet in the air.

While the cause of the awe-inspiring flame is known, the cause of the derailment is not.  Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Illinois Commerce were sent to the scene and will hopefully discover more information as the wreckage is cleared and the fires are eliminated.

Tiskilwa was significantly affected by the derailment.  An evacuation took place early Friday morning with nearly all of the town’s 800 residents finding refuge outside their town’s borders.   For those who remained, the local high school was converted into a shelter by the Red Cross.  While the residents found safety away from the disaster, emergency crews and the media remained  at the scene all day. Most residents were able to return to their homes by Friday night, but the fires aren’t expected to be completely extinguished until early Saturday.

This accident was devastating to the small town of Tiskilwa.  The entire town was brought to a standstill and residents were not able to go to their jobs and children were kept from schools.  All of the inconveniences aside however; it’s amazing that the derailment and ensuing explosions did not cause any injuries.  As witnesses described 200 feet flames, it is also positive news that there were not any town structures affected by the flames.  Hopefully business will return to normal by the end of the weekend and the cause of this flame-filled derailment will be discovered.