Locomotive catches fire
The locomotive of an Amtrak train carrying 200 people from San Diego to Los Angeles caught fire in Lake Forest on Tuesday afternoon, delaying passengers for about two hours.
The rear engine compartment of the five-car Surfliner train No. 573 caught fire about 12:45 between Lake Forest Drive and Bake Parkway, train and fire officials said.
When the engineer saw smoke rising from the compartment, he stopped the locomotive and attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, said Capt. Greg McKeown of the Orange County Fire Authority. The train crew could not fully extinguish the fire, which was put out by fire crews.
Passengers did not have to be evacuated, authorities said, and no one was injured.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
-- Susannah Rosenblatt
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