Traffic across both lanes of U.S. 56 west of Great Bend was diverted by the Barton County Sheriff’s Office for approximately two hours as the result of a train stopped across the roadway late Thursday afternoon.

Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said Friday that he and two deputies were called to divert traffic at the railroad crossing utilized by Watco near the junction of SW 40 Ave. and U.S. 56 at about 5 p.m. The train containing bottom-dump cars was stopped across the roadway.

Bellendir said that one of the 25 cars in the train was loaded with rock, which had apparently dumped its load as it was traveling southbound toward the intersection. Fearing a possible derailment, railroad employees stopped the train as the engine cleared the roadway to the south. 

Traffic on both sides of the highway was diverted in the vicinity, with assistance by the Kansas Department of Transportation. Drivers were instructed to find an alternate route around the scene. With the engine uncoupled, a heavy-duty front-end loader was then utilized to push the remaining cars back across the highway to the north. The process took about two hours, the sheriff said.

Meanwhile, railroad workers were still at work clearing the rock from the rail line at mid-morning Friday.