Trains collide; fuel spills in Salt Lake City
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
More than 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled in a Salt Lake City train yard Monday after two engines collided and derailed.
The two train engines were traveling the same direction in the train yard at 400 North and 500 West about 9 p.m. when the tracks merged and the trains sideswiped each other, said Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Scott Freitag. Both trains derailed but did not overturn, Freitag said. No cars were attached to the engines.
The fuel tank of one of the engines ruptured, leaking more than 1,000 gallons of fuel, Freitag said. Union Pacific crews contained the fuel in the train yard and were cleaning it up late Monday; the Salt Lake Valley Health Department was monitoring the cleanup.