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The Empire Builder
Mon May 23, 2005
Listen in RealAudio 
When we think of transportation modes affected by weather, railroads are usually not
the first thought in our minds. Snow accumulation on the tracks causes the majority of
weather incidents in railroad operations—but not all. And herein lies our story. Hi, I’m
Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook.
On May 27, 1931, the Great Northern Railway's crack transcontinental passenger train,
"The Empire Builder," was heading eastbound from Seattle to Chicago. Less than an
hour out of Fargo, North Dakota, disaster struck.
Late that afternoon, severe thunderstorms raged through Clay County, Minnesota.
South of Moorhead, the clouds twisted and spun into a tornado that stormed
northeastward, cutting a wide path of devastation.
At approximately 4:30 PM, The Empire Builder was eight miles past Moorhead, near
the community of Sabin, when it ran directly into the severe weather. As the train sped
southeast across the Minnesota prairie at 60 mph, an F3 tornado struck it nearly
broadside.
The force of the tornado derailed each of the five 70-ton passenger coaches. It carried
one car through the air and deposited it in a ditch eighty feet from the tracks. Only the
136-ton locomotive and tender remained on the track.
Fifty-seven of the 170 passengers were injured, but only one was killed, as he was
hurled through a window and crushed in the wreckage. The railroad quickly sent a
rescue train out from Fargo to gather the injured, who were then distributed among
Fargo hospitals.
The wreck of the Empire Builder was not the first time a Great Northern passenger
train had run afoul of a northwestern Minnesota tornado. In June 1919, a twister struck
a passenger train just behind the baggage car outside Fergus Falls, about 55 miles
southeast of Moorhead.
Thanks to our contributing writer, meteorologist Keith Heidorn. The Weather Notebook
is funded by Subaru of America.
Today's Links
The Great Cyclone of 1931
http://www.mnwebsteps.com/grover/tornado.htm
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