Okay, I know, it was just a big birdfeeder, but . . .

Cleanup operations are underway following a grain spill along train tracks in downtown Sioux Falls.

At least four cars carrying grain tipped near the viaduct just east of downtown

What if this would have been a petroleum product? What if it would have happened while crossing 8th street or Cliff Avenue and fell on a car?

This is why when we gave Warren Buffet $27 million dollars to build a new switchyard out of town we expected train traffic DT to lessen, it has actually gotten worse and switching is still going on South of the RR Redevelopment project.

I still believe this was the WORST negotiated deal in the HISTORY of the city. We got a patchwork of dirty land for $62 a square foot, and little else. This is why deals this big need to be negotiated in the OPEN. Thanks Mike for your leadership on this deal! If you want to charter another plane at taxpayer expense, may I suggest a one-way flight to Mexico on May 16th. Money well spent.

UPDATE: Some are wondering how close this de-railment was to the pylons of the viaduct and what kind of safety issues this has posed.

10 Thoughts on “UPDATE: This is why train traffic downtown needs to go away

  1. The D@ily Spin on March 26, 2018 at 9:19 pm said:

    No doubt the railroad deal was corruption at its finest. Grain on the ground is a good way to soak up some of the toxins. Don’t buy bread for awhile. Eventually the railroad will route around the city. Meanwhile; the yards is a good place to feed sequester geese away from the airport, bike trails, and Covel Lake.

  2. Any new news on those high speed trains we were promised?…… I heard Brandon was going to be their closest stop….

  3. Jeff Barth on March 26, 2018 at 11:02 pm said:

    I have heard that when a railroad oil tanker explodes you need to be 3/4 mile away to be safe.

  4. Damn! I live 23/32 of a mile from one. And keep in mind that Bakken crude is far more explosive, than say Midland crude. (Does this mean we’re pro pipeline, but we don’t know it?)

  5. Wendell on March 27, 2018 at 8:27 am said:

    Railroad tracks going through downtown Sioux Falls are never going away and railroad accidents like this are very rare in the Sioux Falls area.

  6. we need to build a pipeline to move grain.

  7. Maybe we should bring back Janklow’s “coal slurry” idea from the early 80s…..and apply it to grain and rocks…. 😉

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/10/09/south-dakota-to-sell-water-for-coal-slurry/9f6b9eca-cdf4-4842-8e86-62ada8557236/?utm_term=.e504cead988f

  8. Fluff Mc Fluffin on March 27, 2018 at 3:26 pm said:

    When are we bringing in the monorail? Ogdenville’s had one for what seems like ages! Monorail….monorail….monorail…..

  9. Wendell,

    ‘Bomb Trains’ from the Bakken oil fields travel through SF on a regular basis. They roll through multiple residential neighborhoods with some tracks just over the back fence from homes (ex: 49th and Southeastern).

    BNSF used to park the oil tankers right up against Cliff Avenue at 14th Street. I’ve noticed recently they have begun to park them further back towards the Dept of Labor building. I guess they think they won’t be as visible back there!

    It would only take ONE derailment like this to create a disaster. I’m sure BNSF is feeling lucky this was grain and not oil!

  10. Oil unit trains from the ND oil fields traveling through Sioux Falls does not make logistical sense. Minot, ND, is a major BNSF terminal. It makes sense that oil unit trains would originate from that terminal. From there, the trains should travel southeasterly and eventually arriving in Fargo. From there, the oil trains would either go to the Northtown yard in Minneapolis and head east to their final destinations. Or go southeasterly again from Fargo to Willmar where they can hop on the Willmar to Sioux City to Lincoln line. Now, that line does enter SD around Sherman and exits our state a few miles south of Garretson.

    No oil refineries are located in SD, which we all know. The tank cars that are held here are likely for ethanol plants scattered across eastern SD. Ethanol IS highly flammable – think back to 2015 or 2016 when several tank cars carrying ethanol derailed on the BNSF line east of Scotland, SD. A car caught fire and it burned the railroad bridge. Fortunately, the derailment happened in a rural area.

    And regarding the switching that still happens in the south RR development area … is that the yard south of 14th Street?

Post Navigation