More than a dozen Burlington Northern Santa Fe train cars derailed in north Springfield late Thursday.
One BNSF worker suffered minor injuries, but emergency workers were most concerned that hazardous materials could have caused more injuries.
No neighborhoods had to be evacuated but there is quite a mess to clean up.
A Railroad spokesperson says crews are working to fix a leak in one of the cars that was carrying potassium hydroxide.
The substance can cause skin irritation if you touch it, but it does not cause respiratory problems.
The spokesperson says its not hazardous if you breathe it in.
That’s good news for neighborhoods north of the tracks.
Two train cars sticking straight up into the sky is not only a sight to see but cause for concern.
"Most every set of train cars have some type of hazardous material on them," said Roger Howard of BNSF Government Affairs
At the scene of the derailment you could see flashing lights, police, and firefighters.
Dozens of emergency responders had their eyes on what was inside the train cars and around them.
"There is hazardous material in the yard," he said.
Employees say they did not know right away what was on board because this is a switching yard.
"We're switching cars bring cars in, bringing cars out, this was not yet a complete train," said Howard.
Even with all this commotion ... some people down wind from the train wreck hadn't caught wind of the danger.
"A little surprised, I figured we'd know," said Tabitha Yates, who lives near derailment.
Officials say if hazardous materials were found and could be blown to the north they would have evacuated neighborhoods like the one the Yates live in.
"If I had a knock on my door at 2:30 in the morning I don't care as long as I know something about it," she said.
A BNSF spokesperson says workers were trying to connect two blocks of cars, one block rolled away and derailed at about 10 miles per hour.
The low speed but high impact derailment caused one car carrying potassium hydroxide to leak.
Which means clean up and an investigation are underway.

BNSF officials plan to look at video tapes of the crash and talk to employees who were on scene.