Benton, IL: IC Coal Train Crash on I-57

(Satellite)

JT Blandford posted
July 9 2004, loaded coal train derailed onto interstate 57 at Benton,Il. No injuries to passing traffic.

Kevin Smith also posted
Justin Sobeck Derailment with trainline remaining intact and DPU shoving until it bunched up at the bridge, which is in a bit of a sag.
Christopher Siders If I'm not mistaken UP wreck...that what happens when you push too much with DP and have air set!

Given that it was posted in an ICG group, I assume it was this east-west IC branch through town. It must be an important branch because it is now owned by CN. So I guess ICG management did not dump all of IC's branches. I assume it was kept because it served some good producing coal mines. I wonder if any of them are still producing. Maybe not because the train was a UP train coming from East St. Louis to Paducah, KY. So it sounds like Powder River coal. [BadPlace]

Billy Hammond III commented on JT''s posting
Here's a pic I shot about an hour After it Happened, What a mess!

The accident happened at 9:30am Friday on July 10, 2004, spilling 800 tons of coal. [BadPlace] That reference has many more pictures of the accident. The best I can surmise is that the interstate opened after midnight, but there were lane closures during Saturday as CN worked on the overpass. Traffic did not flow freely again until 4:00pm Saturday. [kvfs12]

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