From today's Times Herald Record. There are pictures on their web site also, but you have to register to see them.
Train derailment has officials scrambling
By Jessica Gardner
Times Herald-Record
[email protected]
Shohola, Pa. – A freight train broke apart in three locations along train tracks nestled next to the Delaware River shortly after noon yesterday.
At least nine of about 120 cars on the train left the tracks in Shohola and Pond Eddy, both in Pike County, Pa.
No injuries were reported.
The names of the two people on the train, the conductor and the engineer, were not available yesterday.
Although the train, owned by New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, was carrying some petroleum products, those cars were intact and upright, officials said. Several other cars, however, suffered various levels of damage.
When the call came in, fire officials quickly began preparing for a massive evacuation because of a delay in acquiring the train's manifest, which lists the contents of the freight cars.
"We didn't know what we were looking at, so we went with the worst-case scenario until we heard otherwise," Don Wall, the Shohola fire chief, said.
A bus was put on standby to help evacuate residents if the need arose. Several boats also were launched into the Delaware to help move residents who live between the tracks and the river. One rescue boat from Sullivan County capsized in the river, although no one was injured.
It turned out, however, that none of the train's hazardous materials were at risk from the derailment.
"We could have had this wrapped up in 20 minutes if we'd have had that manifest," Wall said.
Instead, officials were scrambling for almost an hour, preparing to clear out residents.
According to Wall, the conductor, who got off the train, didn't have the manifest in hand when authorities tracked him down. The engineer, who stayed on the train, wouldn't hand it over.
Instead, he would only allow fire officials to scrutinize it while in his possession.
"People live on this river," Wall said. "We have a right to know what's on that train. I will be asking the township supervisor to find out what happened here."
No one from the railroad returned calls for comment on the cause of the derailment, but Wall thought the weather was a contributing factor.
Wall said it appeared that no one on the train immediately realized the first set of cars broke off. When the discovery was finally made, several other sections came apart while the train was being brought to a stop.
The train was scattered over several miles of track.
At one site near the end of Bee Hollow Road, several cars crashed together like an accordion, gouging out earth and splintering a tree. A length of track was peeled up in a wide arc and miles of rail ties were torn apart.
Officials hoped to have the site clear by this morning.
