WELLS, Nev.. — A Union Pacific train reportedly carrying grenades and other munitions has derailed near Wells, briefly closing a 6-mile stretch of Interstate 80.
The Elko County Sheriff’s Office reports on its Facebook page that 22 cars derailed, but those carrying munitions were located at the opposite end of the train from the derailed cars. Vegetable oil and alumninum oxide were spilled by the derailed cars, the sheriff’s office reports.
The derailment occurred about 10:20 a.m. The interstate was closed between Wells, about 50 miles east of Elko, to Moor, east of Wells, but was reopened shortly after noon.
The derailment is on the route of Amtrak’s California Zephyr. The westbound Zephyr had passed through earlier, arriving in Elko at 10 a.m.; the eastbound Zephyr is not due in Elko until 9:30 p.m.
