Train Derailment Causes Crude Oil Leak in Northern Colorado

I will admit that I am not the smartest guy in the world when it comes to engineering, and thus I talk on the radio and write blogs, and don't build bridges or train tracks for a living. But I have always wondered what kept a train on its tracks at all times. Turns out, trains don't always stay on their tracks. 

Northern Colorado, and more specifically the Milliken and LaSalle area, found this fact out firsthand this morning (May 9th).

The Weld County Sheriff's Office said the train came off the track in the area of County Road 39 and County Road 394 around 8 a.m. today. The 100-car train loaded in Windsor with niobrara crude and was bound for New York when six of the cars came off the tracks. Although no one was hurt, some crude oil leaked into a ditch.

The oil was quickly cleaned up by HAZMAT crews, and because it was limited to leaking in the ditch, it will not affect public water.

Wade Duncan, project manager and estimator for Belfor Environmental, said the cause of the derailment is still under investigation.