KENTUCKY TRAIN DERAILMENT PUTS ANITFREEZE INTO OHIO

WICKLIFFE, Ky. Seven cars of an Illinois Central freight train en route from Memphis, Tenn. to St. Louis, Mo., derailed near here Saturday afternoon, forcing the closing of the railroad bridge which crosses the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky.

"Two of the tank cars are still on the bridge," said Archie Phipps, assistant superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad. "Four others are on the ground, and one of them has already been towed to a site at Cairo, Ill."

Phipps, of Memphis, was in Cairo Saturday to coordinate the clean-up efforts.

"We hope to have the railroad bridge open by late today," he said. "Meanwhile, we're using a route that most freight trains use anyway from Memphis to Fulton, Ky., through Bluford, Ill."

Phipps verified that one of the cars on the bridge leaked some antifreeze into the Ohio River.

"One of the tank cars on the bridge was leaning and started leaking around the top dome," said Phipps. "We don't know how many gallons leaked into the river, but once the car emptied down past the dome, it quit."

On hand at the scene were several disaster services.

A spokesman from the Ballard County Sheriff's Department reported that the disaster service was present form Ballard County and McCracken County.

"The Federal Disaster Service and Kentucky Disaster Service were also there, along with representatives of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency," said the spokesman. Also at the scene were fire departments from Wickliffe and Barlow, Ky. along with several law enforcement representatives from various area police departments and sheriff's departments.

Phipps said he didn't know how long the cleanup would take.

"The cars on the ground were filled with a type of alcohol used in detergents," he said. "We'll probably have to remove the alcohol before we can move the cars."