Rains and flooding damaged Sumner County railroad bridge

July 12, 2010|KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

Cell phone image/Rebecca Gannon

(SUMNER COUNTY, Kan.) —

Union Pacific says heavy rains and flooding weakened a railroad bridge in Sumner County last month.

A train was going across it June 15 when it buckled.

Once the train was removed, workers installed two temporary piers so the track could be reopened. One permanent pier has been installed since then.

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June 15, 2010

A train and two locomotives have been moved off a bridge over the Chikaskia River in Sumner County.

A Union Pacific spokesman says booms are in place in case any diesel leaked from the train. Once the booms are removed, crews will further investigate cause of the bridge's buckling and damage.

A southbound train crossing a railroad bridge near 130th and Sumner Road Tuesday morning came to a sudden and unexpected halt.

Map - Train Bridge

A Union Pacific spokesman says the crew noticed a bow or buckling in the tracks over the Chikaskia River. By the time the train came to a stop, the buckle was between the two forward locomotives.

No one was hurt and the crew made it off safely.

Tom Lange, Director of Union Pacific's Corporate Communications, says the train had 66 cars and the two locomotives. Only 8 cars and the two locomotives were on the bridge at the time it stopped.

The train was carrying anhydrous ammonia in one car. It was 18-20 cars from the bridge.

Union Pacific says it doesn't know what damaged the tracks but is looking at high waters and winds from storms the other night as a possible reason.

Latest River Conditions

Lange says a new locomotive has been brought in to remove the railcars and one of the locomotives from the north. Another locomotive will be brought in from the south to remove the locomotive that crossed the damaged track.

Chikaskia River

The train company says their weather data page shows there may have been as much as eight inches of rain in the area, and that may have something to do with the bridge, but they don't know for sure.

Union Pacific Website

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