GIRDWOOD, Alaska — Two crew members escaped without injury when an Alaska Railroad train derailed after hitting avalanche debris early Tuesday morning, Jan. 17, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
The freight train from Whitter to Anchorage struck debris covering the tracks at Mile 71.5 of the Seward Highway at about 2 a.m., derailing the train’s three locomotives, according to railroad spokeswoman Christy Terry. The debris covered about 300 feet of track, according to a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation.
Work to clear the debris continued during the day on Tuesday, while transportation department workers triggered additional avalanches to control potential snowslides. The extent of damage to the rail line and duration of disruption to rail service remained unknown.
Girdwood is about 35 miles southeast of Anchorage.
Kind of like when the train hit the bridge beam? How could he not see it? Oh wait… he saw it he just couldn’t stop in time.
How do you not see a huge pile of snow from an avalanche on the rail line in front of you? Based on how the story was written the train ran into the pile of debris, which means the slide had already taken place and was blocking the tracks…something doesn’t add up here.
2 AM, curvy section of line, white debris around white ground, it takes quite a bit of time to stop 7,000 tons…even if you do see it, you can’t necessarily stop in time. Looks like they managed to shove pretty far into it, too. Glad no one was hurt.