CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
A Union Pacific employee spotted a potential problem with a section of track and had called for help just before a freight train derailed in suburban Chicago, killing a couple traveling in their car, railroad officials said.
Hundreds of residents of the Northwest suburbs showed up Monday night at Glenbrook North High School to hear from Union Pacific officials regarding the July 4 derailment, which led to a bridge collapse and killed two people.
Union Pacific Vice President of Engineering David Connell told dozens of Glenview and Northbrook residents that the employee, a signalman, did not think it was of big enough concern to order the freight train to stop.
Instead, the employee, who was not qualified to judge the safety of the track, called in an off-duty inspector, but the derailment occurred before the expert arrived.
Railroad officials told the crowd the accident was caused by extreme heat creating what's called a "sun kink" in the tracks. Their explanation included a photograph of a typical sun kink but no videos or photographs from the actual day of the accident.
The Federal Railroad Administration is still investigating the July 4 accident, where 31 cars carrying coal derailed and landed in a pile on top of the railroad bridge, causing it to collapse into the street below and crush the car of Zorine and Burton Linder.
Union Pacific's Chief Engineer David Connell told the audience that welded steel track needs somewhere to expand when it gets hot, and despite good control mechanisms, "sometimes it's just got to go somewhere." He also said there was no evidence that there was anything wrong with the bridge itself prior to the accident.
"Many of these issues you cannot detect because they actually grow and happen underneath the passing train," Connell said. "It was an extremely hot day in Chicago. ... Train travels over this, it heats the rail and it continues to push the rail down the track to a certain extent. It is not uncommon to see these two, three, and four feet out of line.
"It gets to be very difficult for a train car to successfully make it over that."
The accident has led to calls for improved track safety during extreme weather conditions.
Residents questioned the Union Pacific officials regarding the speeds of trains when the weather is hot; officials said their trains had been following a reduced 40 mph limit, and that at a slower speed, the accident still would have occurred with similar results. Residents also complained that engineers continue to blow their horns all night long, as a warning to railway workers, even though no workers are present.
Connell said Union Pacific carries out full inspections of the route four times a year, in addition to quicker checks by track inspectors at least twice a week and every day in extreme heat. Inspectors had looked over the track the day before the accident and had been set to check it again on July 4, he said.
Residents said railroad officials should slow the trains even more in hot weather. Connell said doing so would not have prevented the derailment or caused less damage.
The Lindner's sons have sued Union Pacific, alleging the company was negligent and failed to ensure the safety of its trains and track.
Zorine and Burton Lindner's attorney, Robert Clifford, attended the public hearing and said he is asking the NTSB to take over the investigation. He suggested that the Federal Railroad Administration and the Union Pacific Railroad do not have the resources or the independence to conduct an adequate investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
