Springfield Derailment
Oct 7, 2004

One Killed in Derailment of Freight Train

A freight train derailed in Springfield early Thursday morning, killing a rail worker who was pinned between a railcar and a fence, authorities said. Seven cars filled with oats and one empty car derailed about 1:20 a.m. near an overpass on Sangamon Avenue, Springfield police and Union Pacific Railroad said. The Union Pacific train had three locomotives and 122 cars and was traveling from East St. Louis to Chicago, company spokesman Mark Davis said. The crewman's name was not released, but Springfield Police told WTAX-AM that the victim was a 31-year-old man from Waterloo, southeast of St. Louis. Davis said the train was being switched between tracks in tight quarters near a viaduct and a private fence. As the train derailed, the worker was pinned between a railcar and the fence, Davis said. The derailment spilled grain from the rail cars and left two cars hanging over the edge of the overpass, forcing authorities to close the lanes below to traffic, police said. Springfield Police were trying to determine a cause for the derailment. Union Pacific had no