Oregon Public Broadcasting

A train derailment in northeast Portland tied up freeway traffic for morning commuters Thursday.

The Union Pacific freight train derailed near the junction of Interstates 84 and 205.

Thirty-six cars and two locomotives came off the tracks, spilling lumber and bending a section of rail. 

Brock Nelson with Union Pacific says crews are working to hoist the cars and locomotives upright.

Brock Nelson: “And generally they’ll work from an end, have a contractor -- and they’ll take one car at a time, sometimes  they’ll, depending on the damage to the track and or car, they may just set it in the clear temporarily until we get the railroad rebuilt.”

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.

There were no injuries or hazardous spills, but as a precaution, ODOT closed down the I-84/I-205 interchange this morning for about an hour.

More photos of the scene