Two trailers involved in Saturday’s derailment of a Union Pacific intermodal train in Normal, Ill., caught fire Sunday morning, requiring a multiple-alarm response from the Normal Fire Department because of extreme cold and accessibility issues. Normal Fire Department Chief Mick Humer said the fire was caused by the refrigeration unit during salvage work one of the trailers, and was fed by diesel fuel and refrigerant. The Bloomington Pantagraph reports fire crews worked quickly to control the blaze because of its proximity to an apartment building, which suffered some damage to its vinyl siding.
Saturday’s derailment involved southbound intermodal train ZG4MQ-13, which derailed in three sections between Main and Linden streets. One car came within 25 feet of an Illinois State University student housing building. One track was reopened to rail traffic on Sunday, but Amtrak cancelled two Lincoln Service trains and shorted the route of another as cleanup by R.J. Corman workers continued. Union Pacific and the Federal Railroad Administration have begun an investigation of the accident. — With information from Steve Smedley
