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Train derailment closes State Road 26 near Purdue for several days

Train derails in Tippecanoe County

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — State Road 26 just west of Purdue University will be closed through at least Monday after a train derailment, the Tippecanoe County Emergency Management director says.

The derailment happened shortly before noon Friday on the Kankakee, Beaverville, and Southern Railroad Co. tracks over State Road 26 just northwest of the Newman Road roundabout, Emergency Management director Smokey Anderson tells News 8. No one was hurt.

The roundabout is just west of the western edge of the Purdue University campus.

Anderson says the road will be closed through at least Monday. The short-line railroad company based in Iroquois, Illinois, will start the cleanup Monday.

A total of 24 grain cars derailed, and three of the cars rolled to their sides and spilled corn.

The train was traveling at 10 mph when the derailment happened, Anderson says.

The county sheriff’s office on Friday afternoon sent this traffic alert: “Avoid the area of State Rd. 26 near the Rolls Royce building due to a train derailment. Road may be blocked or closed for an extended period of time.”