Trainspotting

by Feòrag

United States: Dealing with a derailment isn't necessarily a simple operation.

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. -- The rabbi walked along a side track of the Canadian Pacific Railway in this northwestern Minnesota city of 8,000, making sure things were kosher.

Rabbi Yosef Grossbaum of St. Paul was hired by CPR to oversee the transfer Thursday of kosher canola oil from one big tanker car to another.

The Rabbi was not needed for any special rituals, but to make sure the rules were followed:

How have you used that hose? Grossbaum asked Jon Kumlin of Hulcher Services, CPR's car-moving contractor, about the 4-inch plastic hose that was hooked between the two tankers. Assured it was steam cleaned between uses, Grossbaum moved to a 55-gallon drum of water heated by a propane burner. He instructed Kumlin on how to dip a heavy elbow-shaped fitting into the water to cleanse it for use in pumping the oil out of the damaged tanker.

The water needed to be boiling, to follow biblical rules on kosher liquids dating to Moses' time, Grossbaum said.

Rabbi makes sure derailment cleanup is kosher - TwinCities.com, 1st March 2003 (via Tim Hall).