DAY AFTER WRECK, TRAIN BACK ON TRACK; CREWS WORK LATE INTO NIGHT TO REPAIR TRACK, REMOVE CARS

At 3:20 p.m. Sunday, Burlington Northern officials watched a southbound train cautiously roll by the same site where another train derailed 24 hours earlier. Burlington Northern was back in business.

Saturday afternoon's derailment at the southern entrance of Lone Star Industries at 2524 S. Sprigg St. resulted in only minor injuries to the two men aboard an outcome a railroad official termed "miraculous."

Three engines and eight cars were damaged when the lead locomotive plowed off the track and came to rest in a ditch several hundred feet away.

Earlier reports that seven cars were involved were corrected Sunday. No hazardous material was involved. The only spill, contained by the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, was diesel fuel from a locomotive that came to rest on its side.

Crews from the Hulter Company worked on the accident site far into Saturday night and were back at 6 a.m. Sunday. The company works under contract to the railroad to get trains running again quickly when such an emergency arises.

"Our obligation ... is to get things done to restore service to our customers," said Sam Kaunley, a Springfield-based spokesman for Burlington Northern.

They replaced more than 800 feet of damaged track with prefabricated "panel rail," using a laser-guided machine to level the track and track bed.

Using Caterpillar "sidewinders," they also removed much of the wreckage, which will be shipped to repair shops around the country.

Two of the engines, a tanker car and two sets of disengaged wheels remained to be removed Sunday afternoon.

The accident involving the 6,800-ton train bound from Memphis to St. Louis occurred at 3:11 p.m. Saturday. After jumping the track, the lead locomotive struck the base of a power pole, knocking out power to parts of southern Cape Girardeau for less than half an hour.

Kaunley said Burlington Northern and the Federal Railroad Administration immediately began an investigation into the cause.

After the accident, the engineer reportedly said the train derailed after running over some rocks spread across the track. "We haven't confirmed any of that," Kaunley said.

He refused to speculate on possible causes until the investigation is complete.

Both engineer W.R. Geiser, 28, of Dutchtown and conductor Paul Buchheit, 43, of Scott City were treated and released at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

The northbound train was 6,300 feet long and consisted of more than 100 cars. Those remaining on the track were pulled by an engine to southern sidings. Kaunley was unsure of the location.

South Sprigg remained closed to through traffic Sunday night, and a spokesman for the Cape Girardeau Police Department did not know when it will be reopened.

Lone Star Industries production was unaffected by the accident. "Our entrance road was blocked until late (Saturday) night," said plant manager John Burian, "but we don't usually ship cement on weekends."

The plant had been shut down for its annual maintenance anyway, and is to resume production today.