Freight Train Derails in Heart of Arlington, Texas

Feb. 18--ARLINGTON -- It's a disaster scenario that Arlington's first responders have long prepared for: a freight train derailing and spilling its cargo in the heart of the city.

At about 12:45 p.m. Friday, an eastbound Union Pacific train jumped the tracks in the 500 block of Front Street, near the farmers market and municipal court, shaking the walls of nearby businesses and startling people downtown with a loud crash.

The derailment, just east of Mesquite Street between Division and Abram streets, shut down several key thoroughfares and caused gridlock around downtown for hours. But the toppled tanker cars contained only corn syrup, and no injuries were reported, officials said.

"Our tabletop scenarios are much worse," Fire Chief Don Crowson said.

Besides the four tankers, two empty boxcars jumped the tracks, said Raquel Espinoza-Williams, a Union Pacific spokeswoman.

"It is too early to tell what the cause is, but we have opened up an investigation to pinpoint what contributed to this accident," she said.

Union Pacific dispatched equipment to clear the cars, and nearly all rail crossings downtown were reopened by 7 p.m. Only the intersection of East Front and North Elm streets remained closed Friday night to create a staging area for the equipment.

This is the second derailment in five months on the Union Pacific line in Arlington.

"We have experience in dealing with rail emergencies," said Crowson, adding that some businesses were briefly evacuated until a hazardous-materials response team determined that the leaking cargo did not pose a threat. "They do occasionally occur in Arlington. This occurrence was nothing we haven't seen before," he said.

Tense moments

The rail line has cut through Arlington since the 1800s. As the city has grown, residents have complained to city leaders and Union Pacific about inconveniences, such as blaring train horns and backed up traffic at crossings, as well as increased risks, such as hazardous cargo being hauled past homes and businesses.

Downtown now has nearly 3,600 residents and about 400 businesses, according to census data and city documents.

"I prefer not having a rail go down the middle of the city, of course. But there is no way to remedy that," Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said.

Cluck said he's grateful that the derailment didn't occur in a dense residential or commercial area.

"It's fortuitous it happened in that stretch of the track," Cluck said.

The derailment created some tense moments and sticky traffic situations in the middle of a workday.

The closed roads and gridlock delayed some school buses Friday afternoon, Arlington district spokeswoman Amy Casas said.

Terry Webster spent Friday morning watching trains pass Joe's Radiator Service on Front Street while he waited for his pickup to be repaired. But it wasn't until he heard sirens and helicopters that he realized why the last train had abruptly stopped.

"It was quite a bit of noise there for a moment. When the firetruck came we knew there was trouble," Webster said.

Landon McNeely, who works at Dyno-Rock Climbing Center in the 600 block of Front Street, said he was on a ladder when the walls began to vibrate and he heard a sound like a "small, contained explosion."

"Anytime there is a loud noise here, our first thought is the train," said McNeely, adding that the building is just yards from the tracks.

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers was packed with a lunchtime crowd when the derailment happened, server David Alvarez said. Some initially thought the noise and vibration were thunder until they stepped outside and saw the clear skies.

"It was so loud. It shook the building. The train came to a dead stop after that," Alvarez said. "As soon as that happened, we turned on the news."

Customers and vendors at the farmers market on Front Street were also startled by the crash.

"We heard a loud sound of metal on metal. I got up and looked out and there is a train car lying almost on its side," said former City Councilman Joe Bruner, who runs the Friday and Saturday market.

While some people walked toward the fallen cars for a closer look, Bruner began helping the farmers pack up their products so they could evacuate in case hazardous materials had been spilled.

"I'm thinking that they don't realize how dangerous a train derailment can be because you don't know what is in that car," he said.

Assuming the worst

One of the fire crew's first priorities Friday was to determine whether the cargo could put surrounding homes and businesses at risk. The closest buildings were evacuated until a hazmat team determined what the train was hauling, Crowson said.

"You have to assume the worst initially," Crowson said.

Railroads haul chlorine, ammonia and other hazardous materials through Fort Worth, Dallas and other major metropolitan areas, despite years of efforts to reduce such shipments in areas where an accident or terrorist attack could kill thousands.

Information about rail shipments of toxic inhalants through Tarrant County -- such as the precise number of cars and which tracks they use -- is kept confidential under federal law. But one Fort Worth emergency response official who had been briefed on the matter told the Star-Telegram in 2010 that about 1,300 chlorine-filled cars a year go through Union Pacific's Davidson Yard in west Fort Worth.

In 2007, Congress required railroads to map hazardous-shipment routes around major U.S. cities where possible. But in many cities, such as Fort Worth, a bypass simply isn't available, one Union Pacific official said.

"Those cars can carry anything from milk to diesel fuel," Arlington Fire Department Lt. Darrell Whitfield was quoted as saying on the city's website. The company is required to remove the spilled corn syrup, city officials said.

"Our concern is to isolate the emergency potential. Once that's done, it's simply an industrial recovery effort," Crowson said.

In October, a Union Pacific train derailed west of downtown Arlington when an engineer in an eastbound locomotive disregarded a warning signal and struck a train parked in the 4000 block of West Division Street.

No one was hurt, but three engines and five rail cars were damaged and part of Division Street was shut down for about a day. It also trapped about 600 people attending a charity fundraiser at Howell Family Farms.

During a town hall meeting one month later, Arlington residents asked Union Pacific and city officials to continue working to improve safety and reduce noise.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

Susan Schrock, 817-709-7578

Patrick M. Walker, 817-390-7423