Massive Train Derailment Occurs 17 Miles Northwest Of Cheyenne

After several days of hurricane-force winds, including a 144-mph blast in western Wyoming, double-stacked freight cars fell off railroad tracks near Federal, Wyoming, about 17 miles northwest of Cheyenne, one of the state’s windiest corridors.

Neighbors said they believe dozens of train shipping containers toppled off the tracks sometime between 10 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. Friday.

Linda Brandtberg Pette, who lives near the unincorporated community in Laramie County, saw the aftermath of the derailment from her home, only a quarter of a mile away from her house. 

“I think it happened around 2 a.m. because my husband and I did wake up around that time,” Pette told Cowboy State Daily. “The winds have been terrible out there definitely stronger than what they claim on the various weather channels.”

Pette did not know if the wind had caused the cars to topple but she said she wouldn’t be surprised.  

"It’s the worst wind we have seen, and it’s been consistently blowing for days now,” she said.

"150 Cars, Minimum"

Scott Lacy, who lives right next to the train tracks near the windy outpost had just got done surveying the damage Friday, driving on a dirt road parallel to the tracks.

He said there had to be “at least 150 cars minimum” on the train.

He wasn’t sure exactly when the derailment happened except for it was “sometime this morning” after 6 a.m., which is when his daughter goes to work, and she didn’t see anything.

Lacy, who said his family has lived in the location since 1976, recalled an overloaded coal train derailing back in the early 1990s.

“But this was wind,” he guessed. “I’ve never seen no wind turn over no train like this.”

The BNSF Railway was not available for comment on the cause of the derailment at the time of publication.

Lacy’s brother, a former conductor for Union Pacific, told him that with stacked freight cars (rail cars that have containers stacked on top of each other), when “one falls over, they all fall over,” Lacy said.

Realm Of Possibility

The landscape between Cheyenne and Laramie is infamous for its hazardous weather, and this week has been no exception. According to Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day, peak wind gusts in the vicinity of the derailment were between 75 to 78 mph on Thursday night.

“That’s a notoriously windy area,” he said. “My grandfather used to work for the Union Pacific Railroad, and I was always spun yarns about what it was like getting through that route, whether it was blizzards or windstorms. It’s really nasty.”

Day isn’t an expert on railroads, but he knows that strong windstorms have caused derailments in the past. It doesn’t even take an exceptionally strong wind to topple a train.

“Sustained winds in that area were between 50 and 70 mph on Friday morning,” he said. “That could theoretically cause a derailment, but it’s also a stretch where derailments can just happen.”

Height And Light

Retired Union Pacific Railroad employee and former Wyoming legislator Stan Blake worked on the railroad for years. He said the wind speeds recorded between Cheyenne and Laramie could “definitely” derail a train.

“From what I saw, they were intermodal cars, which are overseas shipping containers they double stack,” he said. “It’s like a giant billboard going down the rails.”

Blake explained that it’s unlikely that a windstorm could blow over an entire train, but it could easily be enough to knock over a single car. From there, it’s a domino-effect where one car can topple the whole train.

“A lot of these trains cars are connected by really strong shelf couplers, so they don’t come apart,” he said. “If one starts to tip over, the next one's going to go, and that’ll take the whole thing down.”

Locomotives won’t be blown over by wind, but intermodal cars aren’t nearly as heavy. When they’re traveling along the rails, they’re just as susceptible to strong wind as any high-profile vehicle.

Blake said it's possible that the double-stacked shipping containers on the intermodal cars were empty at the time of the derailment. In that case, they’d be even easier to blow over.

“Those containers are 8 to 10 feet tall,” he said. “Two on top of each other is at least 16 to 20 feet high. They’re the highest railroad cars that run on those lines.”

There Are Rules

When Wyoming’s winds get especially strong, the Wyoming Department of Transportation closes major highways to all high-profile vehicles under a specific weight threshold. They can’t shut down the railroads, which is why BNSF has its own rules about wind.

“There is a rule about running trains during High Wind Warnings,” Blake said. “I don’t remember the specifics, but you’re not supposed to run trains in high winds. This train might have been parked at the time, but nothing can stop the wind on the prairie.”

Day was also aware of the rules about running trains during windstorms. The stretch between Cheyenne and Laramie would be a particularly bad place to be caught, running or stopped, in a crosswind like those over the last week.

“From Cheyenne to the top of the summit, you’re gaining elevation the whole time,” he said. “The railroad and I-80 go through canyons and complex terrain that can accelerate the wind. That’s a very treacherous area, and we’ve been in an awful pattern this week.”

It’s currently unknown whether the train was moving or stopped when it derailed, or even if wind was the primary factor behind the derailment.

Regardless, taking a trainload of stacked shipping containers cars into a notoriously treacherous spot during an intense Wyoming windstorm is a dangerous endeavor.

“The train probably should have never left Cheyenne, especially if those containers were empty,” Blake said.

Prime Suspect Has To Be Wind

Bob Bailey, who lives near the site of the toppled cars, sent Cowboy State Daily some photos of the derailment he captured from his security camera.

Bailey, who’s lived in his house for 30 years, said he “knows it was because of the wind.”

 “Oh, it’s the wind for sure,” he said.

He said the containers appeared empty, making them more susceptible to be blown over.

“I know what trains do and I’m familiar with their operation,” he said. “The engine was fine. That train didn’t just derail. I know it was the wind.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com and Jimmy Orr can be reached at jimmy@cowboystatedaily.com.