Train Strikes St. Louis County Snowplow at Bessette Road Crossing Near Orr

A freight train caught a St. Louis County Public Works snowplow mid-task Wednesday, slamming into the blade as the plow cleared snow from a railroad crossing on Bessette Road about a mile north of Orr. No one was hurt, and both vehicles left the scene under their own power.

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office received the call at 12:02 p.m. on March 18 and dispatched deputies to the crossing. According to the sheriff's office, the plow's blade was extended across the tracks while the operator worked to clear the crossing when the train engine made contact with it. "The snowplow had been clearing snow from the railroad crossing when the plow portion of the snowplow was struck by the engine of the train," the sheriff's office said.

Both the train and the plow truck sustained only minimal, cosmetic damage. A Canadian National representative arrived to inspect the train, mechanically cleared it, and the train continued on under its own power. The county plow truck drove away from the scene as well. A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer also assisted at the scene alongside sheriff's deputies.

The sheriff's office press release, issued at 2:20 p.m. the same day under Sheriff Gordon Ramsay's name, confirmed no citations or enforcement actions were mentioned in connection with the incident. No names of the snowplow operator or train crew were released.

Bessette Road sits in a stretch of St. Louis County that demands active winter road maintenance, and county Public Works crews regularly clear railroad crossings to keep them passable. Whether the Bessette Road crossing was equipped with active warning signals or gates at the time of the collision has not been addressed in official statements. Sgt. Nicholas Toewe of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office is listed as the media contact for the incident and can be reached at (218) 471-7243.