merc
11-12-2004, 09:15 AM
CHILHOWIE - The distinct smell of beer still hung in the air Thursday after a train hauling it derailed the night before.Fourteen cars in an 83-car Norfolk Southern train bound for Roanoke skipped the tracks at around 10:30 p.m. near Deer Valley Industrial Park. Last year, another Norfolk Southern train derailed at night near the same spot. Three cars carrying beer leaked about 20,000 gallons onto the ground, said railway spokesman Robin Chapman. No one was injured, he said. Investigating officers said the leak did not contaminate any nearby water sources, nor did it affect any highways. "Everything was contained away from the creek," said Jack Tolbert Jr. of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. "The creek is about 50 feet away, but there’s a berm. Everything landed on the interstate side rather than the creek side."
The derailment could have been worse, Tolbert said. In addition to beer, some of the cars held coal, vegetable oil and acids. Some were empty but had contained acetone. Those cars probably still had residue of the flammable chemical solvent, he said. Authorities were investigating what caused the derailment. The investigation could take days or weeks to complete, Chapman said. Betty Haga, who lives about 50 feet from the railroad tracks and a half-mile from where the cars derailed, said she heard the train stop Wednesday night. At first, she didn’t know what happened.
"About two hours later, you wouldn’t believe all the trucks and equipment and the machinery and bright lights that they had out there," she said.She found out Thursday morning that the train had skipped the tracks. The railroad has procedures to deal with derailments when they happen, Chapman said. "We work quickly to get it clear and get the tracks back in working order," he said. All trains scheduled to use the tracks through Chilhowie were held until the tracks were cleared Thursday evening.
Staff Writer Diette Courrégé and the Smyth County News & Messenger contributed to this report.
The derailment could have been worse, Tolbert said. In addition to beer, some of the cars held coal, vegetable oil and acids. Some were empty but had contained acetone. Those cars probably still had residue of the flammable chemical solvent, he said. Authorities were investigating what caused the derailment. The investigation could take days or weeks to complete, Chapman said. Betty Haga, who lives about 50 feet from the railroad tracks and a half-mile from where the cars derailed, said she heard the train stop Wednesday night. At first, she didn’t know what happened.
"About two hours later, you wouldn’t believe all the trucks and equipment and the machinery and bright lights that they had out there," she said.She found out Thursday morning that the train had skipped the tracks. The railroad has procedures to deal with derailments when they happen, Chapman said. "We work quickly to get it clear and get the tracks back in working order," he said. All trains scheduled to use the tracks through Chilhowie were held until the tracks were cleared Thursday evening.
Staff Writer Diette Courrégé and the Smyth County News & Messenger contributed to this report.