Twenty years back I got a call from the BN railroad first thing on a Winter Monday morning. A railcar of lumber I sold to a customer in Ohio had rolled into the yard outside of Chicago ON FIRE. Either that or some bums(that is what we all called homeless folks back then) lit it on fire to keep warm.
The other possible cause was a spark that ignited the grease on the wheels. Anyways, the lumber was a total loss, and the fire was so hot that the steel on the 73’ A Frame car bent/melted from the heat. The sawmill replaced the car for the customer and reshipped it promptly.
That coal fire started from a bad wheel on the train. In investigating the problem, the train unfortunately stopped with that car over the wood bridge.
Wait a minute- that's impossible! The Bush-did-9/11- and fire-can't-melt-steel crowd say so! < /sarc >