Train Cars Derail In Burnaby Update
511 views · Published 18 January 2014 · 3:00 · Indexed 22 September 2026
Channel: Bruce Causier · 2014 · News & Politics
I've been following the Train Car Derailment that happened in Burnaby on Jan 11, 2014. Seven cars came off the tracks, 3 had overturned and one of the cars that were carrying Coal had emptied into Silver Creek which leads into Burnaby Lake and the Brunette River. The Railroad Company believes the train derailment was due to combination of heavy rainfall and the work of a busy Beaver. After learning that Beavers have been known to burrow their homes alongside a river bank instead of in the middle of a pond, I decided to walk around Burnaby Lake and came across what I believe are Beaver holes/burrows. The first burrow was quite impressive and large enough to possibly be the beaver's main den/lodge. There were two others, one which I do not think is being used because it was smaller than the other two entrances and there were a few spider webs at the entrance. The third tunnel was just as impressive because you can see right through the tunnel that leads to the water. After seeing these Burrows / Tunnels, I guess it could be possible that the derailment of the train cars could have been caused a beaver if it had burrowed into the embankment where the tracks are located but I am not aware of any video/picture evidence which would prove this theory. The embankment of the tracks is covered with rocks and boulders to help stop erosion and that would most likely prevent the burrowing of any animals. The site of the Train Derailment has visually been cleaned up along the roadside where the accident occurred, but Coal can still be easily be found downstream in Silver Creek. The powdered coal has already submerged itself deep into the sandy banks and coal in its rock form can still be found along the banks of the Creek and the Brunette River. An unidentified working crew was seen nearby the Endangered Western Turtle nesting beach and had the area blocked off while they did their work. They were not a clean-up crew picking up the remainder of the coal. Instead, it looked like they were taking environmental samples at the bottom of the river where Silver Creek runs into the Brunette River. Beavers are vegetarian and feed on aquatic plants and eat the bark and leaves from nearby trees. January and February are when beavers mate and can have up to two or three Kits between March and June. By the time kits are yearlings 70 to 80 percent die from disease or predators. With the large amount of powdered and rock coal that has already gone downstream, I'm sure this will have a direct effect on all the aquatic creatures that reside in Silver Creek, Burnaby Lake and the Brunette River. https://twitter.com/BruceCausier https://plus.google.com/+BruceCausier
