FELA Lawyer News Blog

Archive for September, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, September 27, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) made a final ruling regarding cell phone usage by railroad employees.

FRA final ruling on cell phone usage by railroad employees.

Below are excerpts from the ruling published in the Federal Register. This post is a follow-up to a related story published here at the FELA Lawyer News Blog on May 18th, 2010. ... Read More

PIKETON, OH – A man was killed when the pickup truck he was driving collided with a southbound Norfolk Southern train in Piketon Ohio on September 22, 2010 at about 5:15 p.m. in the afternoon.

Norfolk Southern

Piketon is in Pike County, Ohio in the southern part of the state about 71 miles south of Columbus, about 94 miles southeast of Cincinnati and 104 miles southeast of Dayton. ... Read More

GREAT FALLS, MT – Walter Breuning is a retired railroad worker living in Great Falls, Montana and recently was given the title of “World’s Oldest Man” by the Guinness Book of World Records. Breuning was a clerk for the BNSF Railway Company (Burlington Northern Santa Fe).

Retired railroad worker, Walter Breuning, is world's oldest living man.

Breuning was born on born Sept. 21, 1896 in Melrose Minnesota and moved to Great Falls in 1918 with the expansion of the railroad. He worked in the railroad business for 50 years and now lives in a retirement home in Great Falls where he recently celebrated his 114th birthday on Tuesday, September 21, 2010. ... Read More

NEW YORK CITY – A major fire has engulfed part of the New York City train bridge that is used to protect the bridge from passing boats. Smoke from the fire could be seen as far away as New Jersey.

The fire suspended the Metro North Commuter Train service causing major train delays coming in and out of Grand Central Station. According to ABC News, no injuries were reported and the fire department said marine units were “hitting the fire” with water.
... Read More

HAGER CITY, WI – The Wisconsin community of Hager City “really dodged a bullet” in the BNSF freight train derailment near the Ralston Purina pet food plant on September 13, 2010.

Derailed freight cars in Hager City, WI come perilously close to the Ralston Purina pet food plant actually striking the building, but not going through the lightweight steel walls.

Although the derailment did cause some damage, the community was lucky because it could have been a lot worse. ... Read More

KEARNEY, NE – Two Union Pacific (UP) trains passing each other on different lines collided and derailed on September 8, 2010 at about 8:00 p.m. in Kearney, Nebraska. The two trains were going in opposite directions on adjacent tracks at the time.

Twisted wreckage of train derailment from two passing Union Pacific trains in Kearney, NE.

Kearney is in Kearney County, Nebraska in the south central part of the state about 13.5 miles southwest of Gibbon and 42 miles southwest of Grand Island. ... Read More

Hager City, WI – A northbound BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) freight train carrying consumer items from Chicago to Seattle derailed near the Purina pet food plant in Hager City, WI on Monday, September 13, 2010 at about 7:20 a.m.

BNSF train derails in Hager City, WI near the Ralston Purina processing facility on Monday, September 13, 2010. Photo credit RiverTowns.net.

Hager City is in Pierce County, Wisconsin in the eastern part of the state about 51 miles southeast of Minneapolis, MN and about 73 miles southwest of Eau Claire, WI.
... Read More

FONTANA, CA – The conductor of a westbound Union Pacific freight train in Fontana, California was critically injured after crashing into the back of a slow moving freight car that was going in the opposite direction on the same tracks.

Union Pacific train conductor's arm amputated in Fontana, CA train accident. Photo credit: KTLA-TV

The accident happened late Thursday evening, September 9, 2010 at about 11:55 p.m. on the tracks that run alongside Interstate 10 (the San Bernardino Freeway) near the Cherry Avenue exit. ... Read More

EUGENE, OR – OSHA officials reported today that Union Pacific Railroad Co was ordered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to pay back wages and punitive damages to a railroad worker who was fired after he reported a work-related injury.

... Read More

MOBILE, AL -  A railroad worker for The Alabama State Port Authority, was killed by a train Saturday, September 4, at the McDuffie Coal Terminal, located on the Mobile River at the Alabama State Docks. The McDuffie Coal Terminal is one of the nation’s leading facilities for coal exporting.

Aerial view of McDuffie Coal Terminal on Mobile River at Alabama State Docks

According to Port Authority CEO,  Jimmy Lyons, the victim was a ground person on a train crew at the time of the accident. The victim had been in contact with a terminal railroad engineer in a locomotive that was moving train cars. When the engineer lost contact with the victim, the train was stopped. ... Read More