Runaway Box Car Derails In Adams CountyCovered Car Filled With Plastic Pellets
3:13 pm MDT October 8, 2009 ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- A runaway rail way car headed to the Denver area was stopped when it derailed near 60th Avenue and Federal Boulevard in Adams County Thursday morning.Steve Forsberg, spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe, said the car had been standing still on the track when it rolled uncontrolled down the tracks.It rolled east "several miles" because of the downward slope, Forsberg said. The car stopped at the junction where Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks join Union Pacific tracks.
Forsberg said the car was loaded with condensed plastic pellets, which are not considered hazardous. Some of the pellets spilled when the car tipped over but because the car was covered, not all of the material spilled. The pellets are the raw form of plastic used to make various plastic products, he said.BNSF is investigating what caused the car to roll.No one was injured, no rail traffic was affected and no property was damaged, Forsberg said. The line that the car had been sitting on ends in Golden and is not used heavily.Three counties -- Adams, Denver, and Jefferson Counties -- were all called out to handle the runaway car.It was first reported at about 8:30 a.m.
