Norfolk Southern train Q071, a CN detour, rolls west at Northeast, Pa.
Stephan M. Koenig
PORT HURON — In the wake of Friday’s derailment of Canadian National train 383 at the international St. Clair Tunnel, CN began rerouting trains almost immediately following the closure of one of its most important gateways. Canadian Pacific has been handling some trains through Windsor while CSX and Norfolk Southern lines between Buffalo and Toledo became a temporary home to CN trains and likely this will continue through Tuesday.
CN priority intermodal trains such as Chicago and Toronto trains Q148 and Q149 made the trip across CSX between the two cities. They were handed off between railroads at the Buffalo, N.Y./Fort Erie, Ontario, border. Some CN manifests handling time sensitive freight were for the most part diverted to NS and ran as NS 070 and 071 on July 1. CP also handled traffic between for CN at Windsor, as well. CN’s own Northern Ontario Division also handled some necessary traffic reroutes. More trains would have been rerouted but a shortage of crews in part due to Victoria Day in Canada and the upcoming July 4th holiday in the U.S. have limited the number of available crew.
Trains that were not deemed a priority were terminated at several locations awaiting the tunnel to be cleared. This included several east bounds being kept at Battle Creek, Michigan and other locations.
At the wreck site on July 1, a good number of cars had been cleared by Winters Rigging and several CN crews called from as far west as British Columbia. The DPU locomotive in the train was still in the tunnel as of mid-afternoon Monday and cars were still on the ground on either side. One report said cars had stacked themselves in the tunnel 2 across and 3 on top of each other on both sides of the locomotive. A special rig was called to go inside the tunnel to retrieve the unit but that was not expected to be removed until sometime on July 2. Until then, detours are expected to continue.
“In Michigan a lot of lines use limestone ballast.” Probably on some shortlines, but not on any CN main track, not for many years.
CN DPU number 8832 is now out of the tunnel…there’s a photo surfacing showing it being towed out with little visual damage…
Darryl – Victoria Day? Never heard of it but I know what July 1st is. People in Detroit (a frontier city with a French name for the city iteself and French names of the city streets, where the Maple Leaf flies alongside the Stars and Stripes) know when Canada day is. It’s the start of an international four-day celebration of freedom and democracy, July 1st to July 4th.
Maple Leaf Forever.
July 1 is CANADA DAY! Not Victoria Day. Please correct.
Not a chemistry major by any means, but had to get through a few semesters in engineering school. An acid needs a base to react with to be neutralized, weak bases preferably so things don’t get to hot and bothered. Simple baking soda is a possibility. Concrete is a basic (in the chemical sense) material, so it will react with the acid and damage will occur. The extent of the damage would depend on how much acid and how much time, though I suspect the damage will mostly be superficial given the shear mass of concrete.
Anna…Very valid question…while I wasn’t necessarily a whiz at Chemistry in high school, I got a good idea that Sulfuric acid and concrete mix about as well as oil and water…it will be interesting to hear exactly how bad this thing is damaged.
Minor mistake – July 1st is not Victoria day in Canada. It is Canada Day, our birthday. Victoria Day is a national holiday in May, the last Monday before May 25.
How does one neutralize that much sulfuric acid in the first place? And has there been any assessment to the damage to the tunnel itself?
Does anyone know what the effects of sulfuric acid on concrete are?
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.
In Michigan a lot of lines use limestone ballast. If the tunnel had that, then I believe it should had at least some neutralizing effect.
FWIW this is the ERG page for UN1830 which includes sulfuric acid.
https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/unna/1830
The ERG is what is the initial steps to respond to an emergency with hazardous goods. And what kind of protective equipment is recommended for first responders to respond to an emergency with hazardous materials.
Disclaimer: I am just a worn out retired truck driver. I’m no expert. If you need help dealing with an emergency with hazardous materials call 911 and ask for the fire department. Neither am I a lawyer. If you need legal advice call your state bar association and they can refer you to a lawyer.
@Anna Harding
An acid spill of this size will need to be pumped out. It’s too large of a spill to neutralize with a powdered sodium bicarbonate. Once it’s pumped they may dump a couple yards to neutralize and absorb what’s left. Concrete contains a sizable amount of oxide so damage from sulfuric acid will be minimal at best. The problem is sulfuric acid reacting with any metal in the tunnel will form hydrogen gas which is flammable.