Cleanup continues at site of BNSF Railway freight train derailment at Williston

Cleanup at the site of a BNSF Railway freight train derailment on the west edge of this city could take up to a month.

More than 4,000 bushels of spilled wheat was being vacuumed up into trucks and hauled to a local elevator, railroad spokesman Gus Melonas said Thursday. Some derailed cars might have to be cut up before they can be removed, he said.

Ten cars went off the tracks Tuesday morning while crossing a wooden trestle at a rail yard at a speed under 10 mph, off the main line. No one was hurt. The cause of the wreck was not yet known Thursday, Melonas said. Four cars were put back on the track and the rest moved to the side.

One car fell 15 feet into Red Bank Creek and spilled some wheat there.

"There's no environmental threat, no impact on the waterway," Melonas said.

Operations at the rail yard were not disrupted. Melonas said tie and rail damage on the trestle was fixed and the track reopened about 9 p.m. Wednesday.