The record-setting March rainfall in the Inland Northwest has claimed its first steel-wheeled victim. Initial reports I'm hearing say something on the order of 1 unit and 37 cars on the ground after hitting a washout or mudslide near MP 85, north of Sandpoint, Idaho, on the former Spokane International. A ballast train is already en route to a troublespot near Athol, Idaho. Others are supposedly gearing up to leave Hinkle for the derailment site. Stay tuned for more accurate updates.

Down south around Potlatch, Idaho, the Palouse River is flooding to within just a few feet of the deck of W&I's trestle there. St. Maries is reportedly not expected to reach flood stage this week, but could easily be in danger sometime over the next several weeks if the mountain snowpack starts into a sudden thaw during a period of heavy rain.