DMVW railroad is back on track south of Washburn

Posted 4/14/10 (Wed)

By Michael Johnson, Editor

Sunday was no day of rest for Dakota Missouri Valley and Western Railroad workers who laid new track at the site of the derailment on Turtle Creek, 2 miles south of Washburn. The derailment happened March 25 and killed one DMVW worker and injured another. Crews worked around the clock to pull the derailed engines from the edge of the creek and then spent about a week leveling and compacting the grade to make sure the embankment would be strong enough to hold up. Monday morning the DMVW crew continued placing rock along the railway and it was ready for the first trains Monday evening. "We spent about a week getting the grade and drainage in place," Jeff Wood said. "The weather caused some problems." A new drainage pipe was put into place above the track to divert a spring that could have been causing erosion to the hillside.