Here is a CBS report. https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2...BD9avcJbq766TNCZQm4E
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Everybody safe!!! 
One report I saw the reporter said "the first car of the train was on fire" though it seemed to be the engine. Glad everyone got off safely.
BobbyD posted:One report I saw the reporter said "the first car of the train was on fire" though it seemed to be the engine. Glad everyone got off safely.
In the current news media, most of them don't know a "car" from a "locomotive", nor a Conductor from and Engineer.
On the video, it appeared that the fire was in the centralized air intake compartment, which, unfortunately, is right next to the high voltage cabinet and the main alternator. Perhaps paper filters?
The two most common causes of locomotive fires are
- dynamic brake grid failure, and
- fuel line rupture.
The fuel line problem is more commonly seen on GE locomotives and the dynamic brake grid problem is more common on aging EMD's such as F40PH's. If it's burning up quantities of diesel fuel sprayed into the engine room, it's very hard to extinguish. The dynamic brake grids are not going to stop burning until the metal in the grids has burned. Fire Departments are often reluctant to try to extinguish fires in the dynamic brake grid area, due to caution over high voltage.
So, maybe there is a lot of damage here, and maybe it's a one-week shop job. A mechanical failure can be repaired quickly in the shop, but repairs could take substantially longer if electrical components, including wiring, are severely damaged.
The electric power was probably turned off by the the engine crew shutting down the engine and using the emergency fuel cut-off to stop the fuel pump.
