Railroad crane, ties fall into lake

A railroad repair crane and a carload of railroad ties plunged into Benewah Lake Monday afternoon after a trestle gave way.

Two operators of the self-propelled crane also fell into the lake, said Levi Reynolds of the Benewah County Sheriff’s Department. They “got a little wet and a little scared,” and escaped the dangerously cold water by climbing onto the remnants of the trestle.

A motorist on nearby state Highway 5 reported the derailment at 12:48 p.m., Reynolds said.

The incident occurred about 10 miles west of St. Maries. Benewah Lake is connected to the southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The cause of the trestle collapse is not yet known, said Mike Sullivan, spokesman for Potlatch Corp., which owns and operates the railroad line.

The private St. Maries River Railroad runs 71 miles between Plummer and Clarkia, ferrying lumber and plywood from Potlatch’s mill in St. Maries to a Union Pacific spur in Plummer.

The crane was en route to make repairs on the rail line when it fell into the water, Sullivan said. It had an estimated 30 gallons of diesel in its 120-gallon tank, but the fuel tank did not appear to be ruptured, Sullivan said. The company immediately informed federal, state and Coeur d’Alene tribal authorities of the incident.

The initial report showed no fuel being spilled into the lake, said Kreg Beck, site remediation manager for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

At least two barge-mounted cranes will be used to pull the fallen crane out of the water and muck. Sullivan did not know the depth of the water in the area, but several feet of the crane remained above the surface.

Repairs to the trestle will take an estimated two or three months, Sullivan said. Meanwhile, trucks will be used to haul lumber from St. Maries to Plummer.