Engineer Praised for Actions in Casselton Derailment

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An engineer in training with BNSF Railway has been praised on the U.S. Senate floor for his actions following the derailment of an oil train on the outskirts of Casselton.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says Geoff Anderson, of Larimore, put himself in harm's way to connect 25 railcars to a locomotive so they could be moved away from the explosions and fire that accompanied the Dec. 30 wreck.

It happened when a train carrying soybeans derailed and caused the train carrying crude to jump the tracks. There were no injuries, but residents were asked to evacuate for a time because of smoke that drifted over Casselton when several rail cars burned.

Heitkamp told the Senate on Monday that the disaster would have been worse had it not been for Andersen's actions.