Train leaks diesel on Edmonds shore
By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
EDMONDS — Cleanup crews will continue sopping up oil this weekend along the Edmonds shoreline where two Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotives spilled 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel into Puget Sound and along the railroad tracks early Friday morning.
A Burlington Northern freight train was en route from Seattle to Chicago when it hit debris on the tracks just north of Carkeek Park in Seattle about 1:30 a.m. Friday, said Gus Melonas, a railroad spokesman.
The crew of a southbound train first saw fuel leaking onto the tracks about 1:35 a.m. They alerted the crew on the northbound train, Melonas said.
The debris punctured the lead locomotive’s 4,000-gallon diesel fuel tank, as well as the fuel tank on a second locomotive not in operation. The 75-car, mile-long train continued north another 10 miles before it came to a stop in front of Meadowdale Marina in Edmonds, which has not been in use the past four years.
The pungent smell of diesel fuel wafted over a row of new view homes on the bluff above the marina, which is destined to be torn down.
The spill kept resident Christine Vaughn from taking her dog for a walk on the beach Friday. "We won’t be able to go down there for a couple of days," she said.
Vaughn, who lives nearby, said that when she heard about the spill Friday morning, she thought it was from a 44-foot pleasure boat that caught fire and sank Thursday night in the waters off Edmonds.
The lead locomotive lost about 500 gallons from its tank, while the second locomotive lost about 3,000 gallons of fuel. Diesel fuel from the second locomotive ran into Puget Sound once the train came to a stop.
Crew members and Edmonds firefighters, who arrived first on the scene, were able to patch the lead locomotive’s fuel tank before it leaked its entire contents,
No one was injured. But the train’s two crew members were splashed with diesel fuel in their effort to patch the tank. As a precaution, medics took them to Stevens Memorial Hospital in Edmonds, where they were checked and released, Melonas said.
"If it weren’t for their efforts, there would have been a lot more spilled," said Paul O’Brien with the state Department of Ecology’s spills program.
The crew was unsuccessful, however, in stopping the flow from the second locomotive’s tank.
Fuel that leaked into Puget Sound next to the marina created a 300-foot-by-1,500-foot sheen on the water, Melonas said. Coast Guard helicopters monitored the spill’s path from the sky.
There was an oily sheen visible on the water Friday morning. By the afternoon, most of the oil had been contained inside a ring of absorbent pads that marked the spill area. Vacuum trucks suctioned up the fuel, and railroad officials searched for details along the tracks,
The nature of the debris was not immediately known, but there are occasional rock slides from cliffs in the area.
The tracks will be inspected and cleaned this weekend. Some delays could occur.
Department of Ecology and Coast Guard officials monitored Friday’s cleanup operation, which is being paid for by Burlington Northern.
The extent of the environmental damage appears to be minimal, Melonas said.
Any oil spill kills marine life, O’Brien said. "It’s relatively toxic to fish and wildlife, especially juvenile fish."
Diesel fuel is less hazardous than crude oil, and because it is lighter than crude dissipates and evaporates faster. Diesel also is not as volatile as gasoline, O’Brien added.
The two locomotives were moved Friday afternoon to the Burlington Northern train yard in Everett to be examined and checked for damages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
