The Nation - News from Feb. 13, 1989

The crew of a runaway train that caused a devastating explosion near Helena, Mont., earlier this month apparently set the train’s air brakes, but it remains a mystery why the brakes failed, federal inspectors said. Montana Rail Link officials, federal inspectors and employees, however, disagree over whether the train’s hand brakes also should have been set while the crew changed locomotives near the Continental Divide. Forty-eight cars got away from the crew about nine miles west of Helena and rolled back into town, colliding with a three-locomotive unit. Twenty-one cars derailed and one containing hydrogen peroxide exploded, shattering windows up to two miles away, spewing shrapnel for hundreds of yards and knocking out power for up to six hours in parts of Helena.