Union Pacific Cars Derail Near Superior

Four Union Pacific cars derailed from a BNSF track just before midnight Monday in the Town of Superior.

Town of Superior Fire Department Chief Darryl Fiegle said volunteer fire crews arrived to find three tank cars rolled on their sides and one leaking a flammable liquid called octene that’s used in plastics production.

“Our fire department used sand from the county highway department to build some dams to contain the leak to the ground area around the tank car,” Fiegle said.

Fiegle said railroad crews with BNSF, Canadian National and Union Pacific brought in trucks Tuesday morning to remove liquid from the tanks, noting the nearest homes were about a quarter mile away.

The derailment took place just west of Highway 35, which was shut down for several hours. It has since been reopened, Douglas County Sheriff Tom Dalbec said.

The incident remains under investigation and the cause of the derailment is unknown, Union Pacific spokeswoman Calli Hite said.

“That will be part of the effort when we clean up and remediate the incident and try and identify exactly what happened,” she said.

Hite said the railroad is coordinating their response with BNSF and Canadian National Railways, as well as the Superior Fire Department. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources also responded to the incident.

“We will continue to work on what’s at the site and removing the remaining product from the other cars that derailed,” Hite said.

The rail cars were carrying dodecene and desene, which are also chemicals used in plastics production.

Hite said it’s still unknown how much spilled from the tank car carrying octene. She said a timeline for cleanup also remains unclear.

“That will really be Union Pacific’s focus with the rest of the incident team going forward is to work around the clock diligently to clean up from the incident and minimize the impact going forward,” she said.

Repairs to the track will be made once the area has been cleared, according to BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth.

There were no injuries to rail crews or the public. This is the second time a Union Pacific train has derailed in the Superior area in the last six months.