MOSIER, Ore. -- In Mosier, a protest planned by clergy and others Wednesday remained peaceful and polite. So much so, that they agreed to move off the overpass just before a train rolled through.
They arrived with a message of outrage over the derailment and compassion for the town.
“Part of it is being there and saying we will stand with you not only in reference to what happened Friday but what you're experiencing today. And that we'll stand together to make this be a very different situation in the future," said Rev. John Boonstra.
Down below, crews hoisted up damaged tank cars and drove them out of town. By 5 p.m., only five of the 16 that derailed remained.
“They will be transported to a steel recycling center in Portland for destruction, actually to be recycled and used for other products potentially things like rebar and what not,” said spokesman Justin Jacobs.
The oil is being trucked to The Dalles. A protest planned on Facebook gathered a dozen people who were peaceful.
Back in Mosier, the mayor of Hood River said he hopes everyone now lobbies for action on oil trains.
“Now that it’s happened here in the Northwest I think people are energized. When it happened far away in Quebec and Illinois and West Virginia we cared on some level, now we care on a deeper level and lets do something,” said Paul Blackburn.
As the big pieces of the derailment were hauled away a Union Pacific spokesman said the company is not going anywhere until everything is made right again.
“Because at the end of the day we're gonna leave this place better than we found it. Our commitment is to this community. It remains to this community and that is our sole focus and that is part of it,” said Justin Jacobs.