Murdock, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Murdock
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 Murdock
Location in Illinois
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Douglas |
| Elevation | 640 ft (200 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes |
61941
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| GNIS feature ID | 414242 |
Murdock is a small place in Douglas County, Illinois, in the United States. It's called an unincorporated community. This means it's not officially a city or town with its own local government. Even though it's not a city, Murdock has its own post office and a special code called a ZIP code, which is 61941. The land in Murdock is about 640 feet (195 meters) above sea level.
About Murdock
Murdock is located in the state of Illinois. It is part of Douglas County. Being an unincorporated community means that it is a group of homes and businesses that are not part of an official city or town. Instead, it is usually governed by the county.
The Train Incident
On September 2, 1983, something big happened in Murdock. A train from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had an accident. It went off its tracks, which is called a derailment. This happened around 3:30 in the afternoon.
The derailment caused a fire. The fire made some tanks on the train very hot. These tanks were full of liquefied petroleum gas, also known as LPG. Because the tanks got so hot, there were two very large explosions. These types of explosions are called "boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions," or BLEVEs.
The first explosion was so powerful that it launched one of the train's tanker cars a long distance. It flew about 3,630 feet (1,106 meters) into the nearby wilderness. As it got dark, the fire kept burning. The second explosion created a bright flash of light. It was so bright that it looked like daytime, even though it was night. Both of these dramatic events were recorded on video. They were shown on television news programs around the world.
