A four-engine train with 68 cars transporting molten sulfur partially slid off the tracks Friday, blocking traffic and requiring a chemical spill check, Boulder police said.
There were no injuries, and none of the cars with sulfur derailed or was damaged, Boulder police spokeswoman Julie Brooks said.
The train was operated by BNSF, formerly known as Burlington Northern Santa Fe. It originated in Bonneville, Wyo., and was heading to Galveston, Texas, when three of the four locomotives slid off the tracks about 1:45 p.m., BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent said. The cause of the derailment is under investigation.
Brooks said police went door- to-door, warning area businesses and residents of the derailment and that a potentially hazardous material was involved.
“The sulfur is considered a hazardous material,” Brooks said. “But because there was no leakage or damage, our concern was mostly precautionary.”
The derailment blocked traffic for 2 1/2 hours on Pearl Street between 30th Street and Foothills Highway and also on Valmont Road between 30th Street and Foothills Highway.
The locomotives that derailed were sent to a service station to be repaired, while the sulfur continued to Texas. The line reopened about 5 p.m.
