Courtesy Photo­Image Black smoke soars from the burning ties.

Photo by Jay Huff Firefighters at work

Discarded railroad ties and other construction debris caught fire late Thursday afternoon on the north edge of Bailey Yard.

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The fire was just north of the west forwarding yards -- near the west end of Bailey Yard. The fire was contained to a large pile of discarded ties, apparently accidently started by a contractor who had been using a cutting torch to remove metal plates from the ties, Cpt. Jeff Hankla of the North Platte Fire Department.

North Platte firefighters arrived on the scene about 4 p.m. and had the flames knocked down by 6:15 p.m. They stayed on the scence until about 8:30 p.m.

Hankla said the pile of ties was about 30-feet wide, 75-feet long and six-feet tall. Firefighters were able to contain the damage to about one-third of the pile. The wind was favorable, Hankla said.