The train’s cargo was rail ties, so wood treated with coal tar creosote to resist weathering. By my understanding, that type of creosote has a low flash point and if enough vapour had accumulated, it could have been ignited by just about anything. I don’t think that normally happens when you’re just dealing with treated wood rather than a tanker car of creosote, though, so this might have been a fluke. Or someone might have to reconsider whether wood that’s undergone this kind of treatment is “dangerous goods” or not.

What the train crew thought they were doing when they stopped the burning train in a residential area is another question. My guess is that they panicked and weren’t thinking straight.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

People in London woke up to multiple videos of the train on fire and heading east through the city.

The train was travelling on the tracks owned by CPKCR and eventually brought to a halt in front of an office building and an apartment complex.

We thank the London first responders for their effective response to the fire last night," CPKCR spokesperson Terry Cunha wrote in an email.

It’s unlikely that sparks from the train wheels caused the blaze, said rail consultant Malcolm Cairns, who used to work for Canadian Pacific Railway.

“The Transportation Safety Board [TSB] will have their review of this incident and they will go into great depth, taking witness statements and looking at all the evidence, and eventually you’ll know what caused it and whether the rules were obeyed,” Cairns said.

The train was eventually moved to its rail yard, located between Adelaide and Quebec streets, where firefighters continued to work to put out smouldering material, Shewell said.

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