Dehydrated spuds a slippery scoundrel

When you think you have heard it all, along comes this one.

Union Pacific, according to the Associated Press, has filed a lawsuit against an Idaho food processor, alleging its processed dehydrated mashed potato flakes stuck to the wheels of some freight cars and caused a 2009 derailment at UP’s massive North Platte, Neb., classification yard. UP says the potato flakes affected the cars’ brakes.

The lawsuit, initially filed in a Nebraska state court, was transferred to a federal court, with UP seeking nearly $242,000 in damages, reports the Associated Press.

Idahoan Foods, of Lewisville, Ida., says its dehydrated mashed potatoes rival the taste of real mashed potatoes. Apparently, however, they don’t complement the wheel-rail interface.