Trains filled with flammable crude oil threaten area, records show

Cherry Valley, IL train derailment, June 2009

As many as 40 crude oil trains, each carrying a million or more gallons of the flammable liquid involved in several recent fiery derailments, roll through the Chicago area weekly, documents obtained by the Tribune show.

Although mile-long trains hauling scores of black tank cars have become a common sight in the past year, the documents provide the first public tally of the volume of such shipments passing through the nation’s busiest rail hub…Please click here to read Richard Wronski’s story in the Tribune, here for a related story, or here for a follow-up.