Three P&WR locomotives derail and damage trestle bridge over Olalla Slough in Toledo early Wednesday

By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle

TOLEDO – Three Portland & Western Railroad locomotives headed to Albany from Toledo derailed on the company’s trestle bridge over Olalla Slough early Wednesday, shutting the rail line, damaging the structure and causing some traffic issues.

The locomotives derailed as they began to cross the bridge about 5 a.m., according to Portland & Western spokesperson Tom Ciuba, who added that no crew members were injured and the train was not carrying hazardous material.

Six cars derailed – the three locomotives, a car with extra motors, and two boxcars that had not yet begun to cross to the bridge.

The Oregon Department of Transportation said one of the derailed locomotives started leaking diesel fuel, prompting Republic Environmental Services to dispatch a boat to contain the spill, according to KGW News. By Wednesday afternoon, a Republic crew circled the perimeter underneath the trestle in a boat, laying down a barrier to capture any fuel or debris that may fall into the water.

On one side of the trestle, wood was splitting and planks were jutting out where one of the locomotives damaged the bridge. Ciuba said the bridge would be inspected and repaired once an investigation into the incident was completed, Ciuba said.

Several nearby roads were blocked off and trucks coming off U.S. Highway 20 onto Sturtevant Road were rerouted to West Junction until the late afternoon. Ciuba said some roads may need to remain closed while contractors unload excavators to remove the locomotives and help clean up and repair the bridge.

P&WR hauls wood chips to the Georgia-Pacific mill in downtown Toledo and takes out containerboard made there, according to the railroad company’s website. The chips are shipped by rail from Lincoln and Anderson, Calif., while the containerboard is shipped to packaging plants throughout the United States.

It is unclear how the derailment may affect the company and a Georgia-Pacific spokeswoman declined to comment.

Toledo residents are used to seeing trains moving to and from the mill throughout the day.

Portland & Western Railroad owns, leases or holds operating rights to 478 miles of train track in western Oregon. A map on the company’s website shows their areas of operation as far north as Wauna and Clatskanie to as far south as Eugene. In turn, P&WR is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc., which owns or leases more than 100 freight railroads in North America with 4,000 employees and over 13,000 miles of track, according to its website.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined the company $82,000 after its trestle bridge in Corvallis collapsed last January, causing a train derailment that 200 tons of urea into the Mary’s River. P&WR is appealing the fine and disputing basic facts about what the state said happened.

As part of the fine, the DEQ ordered Portland & Western to submit a report identifying all of its trestle bridges that cross rivers and streams, and outline how the company evaluates safety and repairs.

In February 2023, three P&WR locomotives derailed inside the Georgia-Pacific mill, spilling 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

• Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]