Freight train de-rails blocking tracks both directions
PALOUSE, WA - A freight train came off the tracks between Palouse and Garfield last Thursday, may not be fixed for another month.
The train was carrying lumber and grain from Bennett Lumber Products out of Princeton, Idaho. The company said this derailment stops their shipments to Spokane, which creates lots of problems for their customers. Officials said unfortunately, they will just have to wait or get their lumber from someone else.
"The track's blocked both directions, as it currently stands," said Bennett Lumber Products Safety Director Bob Jahns. "And we're not expecting to see that change probably for two to three weeks, possibly longer."
Bennett officials said that one option would be re-routing traffic through Clarkston, but no word if that's going to happen just yet. The train has a total of 13 cars, and five of them came off the track for an unknown reason. This section of railroad will be particularly difficult to repair because of its location. The track is elevated with wet fields on both sides, and part of the train is on a bridge.
The train was carrying lumber and grain from Bennett Lumber Products out of Princeton, Idaho. The company said this derailment stops their shipments to Spokane, which creates lots of problems for their customers. Officials said unfortunately, they will just have to wait or get their lumber from someone else.
"The track's blocked both directions, as it currently stands," said Bennett Lumber Products Safety Director Bob Jahns. "And we're not expecting to see that change probably for two to three weeks, possibly longer."
Bennett officials said that one option would be re-routing traffic through Clarkston, but no word if that's going to happen just yet. The train has a total of 13 cars, and five of them came off the track for an unknown reason. This section of railroad will be particularly difficult to repair because of its location. The track is elevated with wet fields on both sides, and part of the train is on a bridge.
