USA: Copper thieves strip locomotives

[John Ashworth]

Kansas City Star Posted on Mon, Apr. 18, 2011 05:06 PM

Copper thieves strip locomotives at KC facility

Thieves stripped copper from 10 to 15 locomotives at a Kansas City transportation company over the weekend, leaving the company with a $1 million loss, police said.

The loss includes the theft of 3,500 pounds of copper wiring plus extensive damage to the locomotives that will require them to be shipped out of state for repairs.

The crime was discovered today by workers at Reload Central Inc., 6700 Wilson Road. Police said the thieves apparently drove a heavy-duty truck into the lot and spent hours stripping the engines and loading the copper into the truck.