Murdock is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Illinois, United States.

[2] On September 2, 1983, a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train derailed at about 3:30 p.m., starting a fire.

The fire heated tanks filled with liquefied petroleum gas, resulting in two large boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions.

The force of the first explosion catapulted one of the tanker cars 3,630 feet (1,110 m) into the wilderness.

[3] Both of these incidents were caught on video and shown on television programs and news segments around the world.