CSX Cleaning Up Kentucky Derailment

CSX was still working this past weekend to clear the wreckage of a derailment in Glendale, Kentucky. The 21-car derailment occurred on Thursday afternoon. All of the derailed cars were auto racks.

The occupants of an automobile struck by one of the derailing cars suffered minor injuries. Damaged was a nearby building, an antique store, and some parked vehicles.

The rail line reopened within 24 hours of the derailment.

Railroad officials said the derailment occurred after the locomotive engineer applied the emergency brakes in an effort to avoid hitting a truck at a grade crossing.

Glendale is located about 45 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky. No railroad crew members were injured in the incident.

CSX Clears Derailed Coal Hopper Cars

CSX said Thursday it has removed 22 coal hopper cars from a derailment site in West Virginia as part  of its efforts to reopen the New River Subdivision.

The derailment of the empty coal train occurred early Wednesday morning after the train struck boulders on the track near Sandstone, West Virginia, in the New River Gorge.

Three crew members suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the derailment.

The train’s four locomotives also derailed and spilled fuel into the New River. Workers at the site were seeking to contain the fuel spill.

CSX said once the locomotives are removed from the site it will work with the National Park Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection on removing rock and contaminated soil from the site.

Drones are being used to survey the area “in an effort to identify and mitigate where possible the risk of rockslides,” CSX said.

3 Hurt in CSX West Virginia Derailment

CSX provided this image from the lead locomotive’s outward facing camera showing boulders on the track just before the track struck them.

Three CSX crew members were injured on Wednesday after their train struck large boulders in West Virginia and detailed.

CSX said the three crew members did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

The empty coal train struck boulders that were described as 10 feet high and 25 feet in length.

All four locomotives and nine empty coal hoppers derailed with the lead unit catching fire.

The derailment occurred at 4:51 a.m. at Sandstone, West Virginia, along the New River Gorge line.

The route is used by Amtrak’s Cardinal, which was cancelled in both directions between Washington and Huntington, West Virginia.

News reports indicated that the locomotives landed on their sides with two units landing in part in the river.

Some diesel fuel spilled into the river, but workers took steps to contain the spill.

All three injured crew members were aboard the lead locomotive. The engineer suffered a compound leg fracture, an engineer trainee was hospitalized for observation, while the conductor was treated and released.

CSX said another train that passed the site about three hours earlier had not observed any signs of a rockslide.

CSX Train Derails in Greenwich on Monday

Photo by Greenwich Police Department

No injuries were reported after a CSX train derailed on Monday in Greenwich. News reports indicated that 20 cars derailed about noon.

The derailment occurred along North Kniffin Street and took out some power lines in the area, disrupting service to about 100 customers.

The cars involved in the derailment were empty container well cars and flat cars. An online report indicated the train was the I008, which originates near St. Louis and runs to North Bergan, New Jersey.

The train was moving from the Mt. Victory Subdivision to the Greenwich Sub. The derailment blocked the New Castle Subdivision tracks.

An online report indicated that most of the derailed cars had been moved out of the way and the crossing of the New Castle Sub was reopened late Monday afternoon with a 10 mph speed restriction.

All other CSX tracks through Greenwich were reported to be reopened by Tuesday morning. Kniffin Street was reported to still be closed.

CSX Spills Corn in Friday Derailment Near Toledo

A CSX grain train that derailed early Friday morning in Toledo spilled corn near the city’s port.

There were no injuries, but the derailment blocked some city streets and rail lines for several hours.

News reports indicated that 10 covered hoppers carrying corn derailed shortly after 1 a.m. at Ironville Junction near the border of Toledo and Oregon, Ohio.

A report posted by The Blade of Toledo said the derailment tied up traffic on the CSX Toledo Terminal Subdivision and Norfolk Southern industrial tracks near the port that crosses CSX rails at Ironville Junction.

The rail lines of both Class 1 carriers were blocked for much of Friday.

The grain train had originated in Michigan. A CSX spokeswoman told The Blade that the cause of the derailment was under investigation.

Debris From Mudslide Caused CSX Derailment

Federal investigators said a 2020 CSX derailment in Kentucky was likely caused by debris on  the track after a mudslide.

The derailment occurred on Feb. 13, 2020, near Draffin, Kentucky, on a route that is wedged between the Russel Fork River and a hillside.

The mudslide occurred following several weeks of rain, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released last week.

Investigators said the area had received more than 300 percent of its normal rainfall in the two weeks before the derailment occurred.

Three locomotives, a buffer car and four tank cars derailed. Two of the tank cars released 38,400 gallons of denatured ethanol.

The report said the spilled ethanol combined with diesel fuel from the locomotives and ignited, resulting in a locomotive being destroyed by fire.

The train crew was able to escape through the river and sustained minor injuries.

Although the locomotive engineer applied the train’s emergency brakes, there was not enough time to avoid a collision with the debris on the track.

A weather alert system that CSX relied upon “did not account for the impact of the unusual increases and accumulation of precipitation” over several weeks, and elevated temperatures in the month before the derailment, the NTSB report said.

The NTSB said the severity of the derailment might have been reduced had the two tank cars that spilled ethanol been placed further toward the rear of the train.

The cars were of the USDOT-111 type. The NTSB has in earlier reports made a similar recommendation about the placement of that class of tank cars.

CSX Derailment Causes Small Fire in Avon Yard

The derailment of two locomotives and six cars in CSX’s Avon Yard near Indianapolis on Tuesday triggered a small fire that was quickly extinguished.

Officials said there were no injuries. Reportedly both locomotives were being controlled remotely.

CSX called in contractors to clear up spilled lube oil and diesel fuel. Officials with the Wayne Township Fire Department and Avon Fire Department said the spills did not endanger any waterways.

A CSX spokesperson said the derailment occurred about 11:45 a.m.

Avon FD battalion chief and public information officer Jerry Bessler said firefighters returned to their stations after extinguishing the fire and determining that a hazmat response was not necessary.

CSX Steel Train Derails in Michigan

No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved in a New Year’s Day derailment of a CSX train in Romulus, Michigan, in the Detroit metropolitan area.

News reports indicated that the 15-car derailment occurred about 1:37 a.m. near Eureka Road and Interstate 275 and took down power lines in the area.

Most of the effects of the lost power were felt along Eureka Road, including traffic signals being knocked out of operation.

The train was reported to be carrying steel products.

CSX Train Derails in Kentucky During Severe Storm

No crew members were injured after 28 cars of a CSX train were derailed during a severe storm system early Saturday morning that spawned tornadoes across six states that left at nearly 100 dead in Kentucky alone.

The derailment of train Q500 occurred shortly after midnight between Earlington and Morton’s Gap, Kentucky.

A CSX spokesman told Trains magazine the 28 cars that derailed were empty. However, photographs of the derailment showed at least one hopper car with spilled contents.

Some cars landed 75 yards away from the tracks of the Henderson Subdivision.

The spokesman said contrary to some reports none of the derailed rail cars struck nearby homes.

“The safety of the community is our top priority as we work on our recovery plan,” CSX said in a statement “CSX personnel are coordinating with local emergency responders to stage the site in order to clear the derailed cars from the tracks.”

Earlington is located about 120 miles southwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

New reports indicated that the storm system spawned more than 30 tornadoes including one that stayed on the ground for more than 200 miles from Arkansas to Kentucky.

Reports indicate that at least 84 deaths in Kentucky have thus far been attributed to the tornadoes, which touched down in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Fatalities were also reported in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

To view photographs of the derailment and adjacent storm damage, visit https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/news-photos-train-derailed-by-tornado-in-kentucky/

CSX Derails 14 Cars in Indiana

There were no injuries and no hazardous materials released after a CSX train derailed Thursday morning in Fountaintown, Indiana.

Train Q360 bound for Avon Yard near Indianapolis derailed 14 cars. Some plastic pellets and non-hazardous fatty acid was spilled but officials said this did not cause any health hazards.

The train originated at Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati and was traveling on the Indianapolis Subdivision, the route also used by Amtrak’s Cardinal.

The westbound Cardinal had already passed through the area before the derailment occurred at 8:11 a.m.

That night’s eastbound Cardinal only operated from Chicago to Indianapolis with the train cancelled between Indianapolis and New York.

News reports indicated that the derailment knocked down some power lines and blocked a highway.

In a statement, CSX said the derailed cars included six empties and eight loaded cars. The statement said the cause of the derailment is under investigation.

The derailment site is about 20 miles east-southeast of Indianapolis.