Nine railroad cars derail in Vay
—Photo by LUCY DUKES<br>A train derailment in Vay threw nine cars from the tracks, spilling grain but injuring no one.
SANDPOINT — A train derailment early Thursday morning in Vay threw nine railroad cars filled with grain from the tracks, forcing Union Pacific Railroad to reroute trains onto Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks for longer than a day.
No one was injured in the derailment, which happened around midnight Thursday. The cause of the derailment is under investigation, said Dan Angel, manager of track maintenance for Union Pacific.
The amount of grain spilled and the financial damage incurred from the incident remains unknown. Each car carried 22,800 pounds of grain, and most of the nine cars appear to have lost at least some of their loads.
The derailment occurred on tracks next to Vay Road and began 21 cars from the front of an 80-car train headed south, said Angel. He was not certain of the train's destination, but added Portland was most likely.
Railroad ties near two of the most badly damaged cars, at the north end of the derailment, appear splintered and the ground plowed up. Further down the tracks, the cars appeared to be neatly tipped on their sides.
The railroad company called in about 40 people from out of the area and a dozen pieces of equipment to clean up the twisted tracks and spilled grain, as well as right the cars.
Angel anticipates the railroad will have tracks back in place and ready for trains by 9 a.m. today.