Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON STATE : Rail Crash Sparks Spectacular Fire

A head-on collision between a freight train and a large rail-maintenance unit caused a spectacular fire, more than $500,000 in damage and the 12-hour shutdown of an Amtrak passenger route near Lamona, Wash., officials said. Braking problems on a rail grinder, a heavy unit about two locomotives long that is used to remove rough spots from the rails, apparently led to the accident, Howard Kallio of Burlington Northern Railroad said. All three locomotives and some of the approximately 35 cars on the freight train were destroyed, Kallio said. Four workers suffered minor injuries in the crash.