Blocked railroad tracks reopened

Train tracks that were blocked for two days by a rock slide 30 miles east of Libby reopened at about 9 a.m. Friday.

The Wednesday slide slammed into the side of a freight train and derailed 16 cars, including one containing frozen turkeys. Some of the rail cars were buried by rocks.

About 50 BNSF personnel worked for the last two days clearing the site and replacing about 400 feet of track.

“It appears that there was 7,000 to 10,000 cubic yards of material that slipped,” BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said on Friday.

The rock slide, which hit the train in a narrow ravine at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, reached up to 40 feet high in some areas and was roughly 150 feet long, Melonas said.

About half the train had made it through the ravine when the rock slide took out the middle cars, according to Vic White, director of Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency.

It occurred about 8 miles down Wolf Creek Road off of Fisher River Road.

Three cars have been re-railed while 13 were shoved to the side. Some will be re-railed next week but some will be scrapped, Melonas said.

Normally, trains run 60 mph through the slide area but they are being limited to 25 mph in that area to ensure that the tracks are safe, Melonas said.

The 88-car train was carrying pipes, soybean oil, corn syrup, frozen meat and other merchandise on its way to Pasco, Wash. All but one of the derailed cars were empty, so there were no environmental threats.

Bulldozers, front-end loaders, excavators and other machinery from Libby, Whitefish and Sandpoint, Idaho, were summoned to clear the slide.

Some of the cleanup work was hampered by continuing rock slides.

About 30 trains use the route daily.

“Traffic is on the move now,” Melonas said. “The line is open.” 

The Libby Western News contributed to this story.