MIDWAY BEACH, Iowa — One crew member was reported airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries after the derailment of a CPKC train that reportedly ran away on a spur line on Saturday, June 29, near Montpelier, Iowa.
The incident occurred about 7 p.m. near Midway Beach in Muscatine County, Chris Jasper, Muscatine County Director of Emergency Management, told WQAD-TV.
The train, powered by CP GP40-2 No. 4008 (ex-Milwaukee Road no. 2014) and Kansas City Southern AC440CW No. 4620, derailed just west of the highway bridge that carries State Route 22 across the spur that runs from CPKC’s main line at Midway Beach to a Harsco Environmental metal recycling plant. Both locomotives and nine loaded cars of steel plating derailed, along with an empty tank car, after reported running away while coming down the spur’s significant spur.
Images from the scene on the KGAN-TV website show the two locomotives and several railcars on their side on the outside of a curve. Both crewmembers were hospitalized, with the engineer reported to have jumped from the train, which reached 44 mph. The conductor rode out the wreck. The engineer, airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in the Quad Cities, was reported in stable condition as of Sunday evening.
The line was reopened as of Sunday afternoon, with contractors rebuilding the track. No. 4008 was being cut up on site.
Midway Beach is approximately a mile west of Montpelier and about 12 miles from Davenport, Iowa, on CPKC’s Ottumwa Subdivision. A spur that leaves the main line there serves a Harsco Environmental metal recycling plant.
— Updated at 12:22 p.m. CT with photos from scene. Updated July 1 at 7:20 a.m. and 5 p.m. with additional details. Steve Smedley contributed to this report.
What happened to create a runaway train? Brake failure? Dynamics not effective? Train speed too high coming into grade? Got to be a story behind this event.
Was the injured crew member the engineer or second member?
Praying the injury crew member makes a full recovery. Sad to see the ex-Milwaukee unit being cut up for scrap.