REESEVILLE, Wis. (WKOW) — Authorities in Dodge Co. are responding to a train derailment in Reeseville.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said the train derailed at about 1:55 p.m. west of the village of Reeseville. He said it’s a Canadian Pacific train, and 29 cars derailed.
Deputy Fire Chief Chris Abell with CLR Fire & Rescue said the derailed cars contained grain and potash. However, in an email to 27 News, Rebecca Stephen, the communications director for Canadian Pacific, said the cars were carrying wheat, seed and bentonite clay.
Both Abell and Stephen said there were no hazardous materials on the train. Schmidt said there’s no threat to the community.
Schmidt said no one was hurt, but the area is “a mess” and there was “a lot” property damage.
Schmidt told reporters, all things considered though “we’ve got a blessing here today.”
Tuesday afternoon, 27 News spoke with Kyle Minnameier, whose business is close to where the derailment happened.
“The train was going pretty fast, and then, all of a sudden … I was looking out the window and I just saw it just start slowing down real fast,” he said. “I was like ‘well, that’s strange.'”
Main Street in Reeseville was closed for nearly four hours Tuesday because of the derailment, but it reopened shortly before 6 p.m.
Schmidt asked everyone to avoid the damaged tracks.
“The tracks are definitely damaged,” said Schmidt. “We don’t know if there is any tension on those tracks. And if something were to happen, and something were to snap, we don’t want anybody to be near that.”
Schmidt also noted the derailment was likely to cause travel delays.
“The Amtrak train does come through here, and they’re not getting through,” he said.
On Twitter, Amtrak said two of its trains on the Empire Builder Route that goes from Chicago to Seattle were delayed. An eastbound train left La Crosse more than eight hours late Tuesday night. A westbound train left Chicago almost five hours behind schedule. Both trains had to bypass six stops in Wisconsin, including those in Wisconsin Dells, Portage and Columbus.
Schmidt said authorities are working with Canadian Pacific and the railroad police to determine what caused the derailment.