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Rio Puerco, NM 1-7-2002
.
Excerpt from a
TO
post 'At 11:15 a.m. CT on Wednesday, December 19, 2001 train
S HOULAC1 17A derailed 8 cars at Rio Puerco, NM approximately 30 miles
west of Albuquerque, NM, blocking both main tracks.' karldotcom
Though the post indicated 8 cars derailed, I observed more than a dozen wrecked and damaged well cars. I was unable to get a complete count, because I avoided venturing past the perimeter with the ongoing cleanup and crews on site. The wreckage was located on both sides of the mainlines and was in various stages of clean-up. The location is exactly at the point where the BNSF tracks split at the east end of Rio Puerco, tracking along from there at on separate roadbeds for awhile. There is a grade crossing at the immediate west end of the wreck site, which apparently was barely missed by the derailment. The signal mast for the south rail / Main 2 had to be replaced. There was a substantial amount of scarred ground, which indicated a wide wreckage site resulting from a fast moving train. It was pretty interesting.
