Photo: Jeremy Thompson Silver Dollar City via Wikimedia Commons
A mini steam train in the Silver Dollar City amusement park outside Branson, Missouri derailed on Wednesday, resulting in seven injuries, according to an announcement by the park and local news reports. The Frisco Silver Dollar Line Steam Train operates on a 1.6-mile loop inside the park providing park-goers a “leisurely 20-minute steam train ride through the beautiful Ozark countryside,” according to the park’s website, which would give the train an average speed of 4.8 mph, although “train robbers briefly interrupt your ride in a humorous stick-up attempt, so hold on to your hat and your wallet!” It is unclear what caused the derailment. Motherboard called the district office for Southern Stone County Fire District which responded to the incident for more information, but the person who answered the phone directed Motherboard to Silver Dollar City public relations for all questions relating to the incident. Silver Dollar City referred Motherboard to the following tweet from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety for the latest update, which said the investigation is continuing with “no determination made at this preliminary stage.”
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In a tweet on Wednesday, Silver Dollar City said, “At this time, we are wholeheartedly focused on providing support for guests and team members in partnership with Stone County first responders.”
Although it occurred at an amusement park, train derailments are serious safety issue occurring multiple times per day on average in the U.S. than can get people hurt or killed. According to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis database, there have been 665 train derailments in the U.S. reported so far this year. The majority of these, 453, occurred on Class I Track where speeds are restricted to 10 mph for freight and 15 mph for passengers, indicating they occur mostly in freight rail yards and sidings. It is not clear if amusement park rides are included in the FRA’s reporting database. Nevertheless, it appears America’s crumbling infrastructure is expanding to children’s rides.Sign up for Motherboard’s daily newsletter for a regular dose of our original reporting, plus behind-the-scenes content about our biggest stories.