SEALY, OK
A five-car train derailment in Sealy closed the main Union Pacific line rail between Houston and central Texas Wednesday morning.
The accident was caused by flood waters weakening the roadbed of the Union Pacific railroad tracks just north of Ryan Ford on the east side of Sealy.
Five hopper cars of crushed limestone rolled into a small creek. Paul Guerrero, a heavy equipment repair contractor for Union Pacific, described the accident.
“It was a washout. The rail bed weakened because of the floodwaters. The engine got across OK and fortunately there were no injuries. The way it looks right now, it’s so wet we can’t get the heavy equipment in to clean it up. It’s like a swamp. The line is shut down right now,” Guerrero said.
The creek was partially blocked by the spilled limestone, adding to the flooding problems. A fence and about 100 feet of track were destroyed.