The train cars carrying crude oil that derailed and burst into flame in western Illinois continued to burn on Friday, even though the cars were designed to prevent that kind of accident, The Associated Press reported. The train's operator, BNSF Railway, said the 21 train cars that derailed and exploded on Thursday were designed with safety upgrades meant to prevent the cars from leaking if they derailed. "It certainly begs that question when ... those standards failed to prevent leakage and explosions that threaten human safety and environmental contamination," said Steve Barg, director of the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation, which owns a nature preserve several hundred yards from the derailment site.
