WINONA, Minn. – The Chicago-bound Empire Builder was 14 hours late into Winona after a bomb scare 60 miles upriver in Red Wing. More than 80 passengers were ushered off the train in Red Wing while authorities summoned a bomb squad from Rochester. It was about 3 p.m. that the train’s conductor had halted the train after finding a single small bag unattended. The bag was removed, but emergency crews, including the bomb squad, stayed on board, checking the entire train for hazardous material. Fourteen hours later, the all-clear was issued. Passengers reboarded, and the engineer blew the head locomotive’s horn twice and long , released the brakes, accelerated gently, and the train resumed the journey.
Long wait at the depot. Train due in Winona at 10:11 a.m. when on schedule, but it already was runing late. Then came an emergency haz-mat delay in Red Wing.