TRAIN MISHAP BLAMED ON WHEEL GURDON, AR -- A wheel malfunction has been blamed for a train derailment that occurred in Gurdon, Arkansas in on Oct. 22. Joe Arbona, Arkansas director of regional affairs for Union Pacific Railroad, said this week that he had a report indicating that to be the cause of the derailment. Arbona said UP Railroad owns only a few of the cars that are pulled behind the UP locomotives, and that the majority of cars are owned by businesses and industries that use the railroad for transportation. He said the report didn't indicate which of the five cars that derailed in Gurdon had the faulty wheel, but said UP would talk to customers regarding the upkeep of equipment. The derailment happened shortly after 08:00 Sunday, Oct. 22. Five cars left the tracks near the Main Street crossing in Gurdon. The five were tanker cars and at least one had a large gash. When officials arrived, there was a liquid visible in one of the damaged cars, resulting in the decision to evacuate an area around the derailment. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that only the outer layer of the tanker had been breached and that the inside liner was intact. There had been no chemical released during the incident, though it was later determined that the cars immediately behind the five that derailed were carrying flammable liquids. Railroad crews worked for a full day, clearing the debris from the tracks and restoring the tracks before train travel resumed. Arbona said his information didn't go into great detail regarding the cause of the Gurdon derailment, but simply stated that the accident was the result of "a wheel malfunction." - Wendy Ledbetter, The Gurdon Times, The Hope (AR) Star
Doesn't UP car guy's inspect the freight cars when they are making up trains in UP yards? And don't the cars have to be inspected every so often like locomotive inspections that are mandated by the FRA? And most of the cars I see in UP general merchandise freights have UP reporting marks?
