Oil Train Theater: Close Call in Mosier, Oregon

Close Call in Mosier presents the direct words of those who experienced the derailment and fire. (Frances Burke, Alan Hirsch, Jean Jackman)

This Oil Train Theater piece was prepared for the 3rd Stop Oil Trains memorial of the Lac Megantic oil train derailment and explosion that claimed the lives of 47 people in July 2013.   It highlights the close call in Mosier, Oregon when an oil train derailed and four cars burst into flame on June 4th, 2016.  Most of the words are direct quotes from the people involved.

Annotated Reference List of Crude-By-Rail Articles – January 21-2014

If the Valero Benicia proposal is approved, 100 oil cars a day will pass through Davis like these tank cars photographed on 2nd St. on Jan. 9, 2013.

In recent months, tank cars of oil can be spotted moving along the Davis rails and sometimes parked, though many of the full trainloads move through at night. The tank cars (each 60 feet long) are destined for the five oil refineries in the Bay Area (1. Valero in Benicia, 2. Tesoro Golden Eagle in Avon, 3. Shell in Martinez, 4. Phillips 66 in Rodeo, and 5. Chevron in Richmond), depending on what product they contain.

The trains travel from the hub in Roseville, through Sac, West Sac, across the Yolo Causeway