UPDATE 7/20/2015: A Tesoro spokesperson states the train was not headed for their facility in Anacortes as previously reported.
From the Associated Press
Derailed oil tankers are pictured on the side of U.S. Highway 2 east of Culbertson, Mont., on Friday, July 17, 2015, after a train derailment occurred the night before. Amy Dalrymple/Forum News Service
An oil train derailed Thursday in rural northeastern Montana, prompting the evacuation of some homes and leaving at least two of the cars leaking crude, authorities said.
There were no immediate reports of injury or fire, but of the 21 cars that derailed only two remained upright, Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick said.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Michael Trevino said the train was pulling 106 loaded crude oil cars when it derailed near Culbertson near the North Dakota border just after 6 p.m. MDT.
Police, fire and other emergency responders were at the site of the derailment, which forced the closure of federal Highway 2, the region’s main artery.
Frederick told The Associated Press that crews are not going too close to the leaking cars until a BNSF hazardous materials team, enroute from Texas, reaches the scene.
But he said that there was no immediate threat to public safety.
The sheriff didn’t know how many homes were evacuated but described area as a rural setting with ranch homes spread apart.
The Billings Gazette reported that the derailment came only about six hours after traffic started moving again after another BNSF derailment further west near Fort Kipp on Tuesday.
Rail officials declined to specify if the train was hauling crude from North Dakota’s Bakken oil patch, where growing numbers of shipments that have increasingly drawn safety concerns.
Trains hauling crude from the Bakken region have been involved in multiple derailments in recent years, some causing fires.
U.S. transportation officials recently extended an order for railroads to notify states about shipments of hazardous crude oil shipments.
(Editor’s Note: Other sources indicate the train was headed for Anacortes.)
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Does the Associated Press say somewhere that this train was headed for Anacortes? Would it have run through downtown Anacortes or gone to the Tesoro refinery? Maybe Cherry Point or somewhere else. Let’s be sure the Title of the Article is correct and not just sensationalizing.
Although the Associated Press does not explicitly state the train was headed for Anacortes, other sources do indicate this. No one at Tesoro is available for comment. If we learn more, we will report on it.
Thank you for your question.
Seattle Times with an AP story explicitly mentioning Anacortes:
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/feds-derailed-oil-train-in-montana-spilled-35000-gallons/
Lin, exactly what are your sources? It would be nice to know where your information comes from.
Alexander say the Seattle Times mentions Anacortes. Tesoro say it was not. How do we get actual facts reported?
Incidentally, I understand (but do not know for sure) that Tesoro does get crude oil by train. Shell might not as it used a pipeline.
I wonder if these cars that derailed were the “new” type or were they the old cars. Seems there was not a fire.
Tom
Tom, I was simply responding to your inquiry regarding whether or not the AP had made an earlier statement about Anacortes.
Here is a more recent AP story, quoting FRA spokespeople, reporting the intended destination as Cherry Point…and also noting that these were the newer, 1232 standard tank cars: https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article27910774.html
As far as definitive answers…likely a while into the future until the FRA’s accident report is finally released.
shipping oil by pipeline is infinitely safer than shipping by rail and frees up rail (and reducing costs) for other important purposes (shipping goods). fighting pipeline construction is senseless.