Disaster avoided in Scranton train derailment
BY CHARLES SCHILLINGER
The Scranton Times-Tribune
March 9, 2009
Two train cars carrying hazardous materials were intact Monday afternoon after one-fourth of a 43-car freight train derailed in Scranton.
There were no injuries and no Hazmat incidents on the railroad, which runs along the embankment of the McDade Expressway.
But had several train cars derailed and fallen over the embankment onto the road — or had cars containing a sodium hydroxide solution or chlorine leaked — “it could have been a different story,” said Scranton Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Floryshak.
As it turned out though, the train left tracks at a point where four cars derailed and turned on their side away from the Scranton Expressway. Another six train cars also derailed, but did not turn over, though firefighters indicated at least one was still unstable.
The cars that derailed were transporting new motor vehicles and lumber, said Assistant Chief Floryshak.
The Norfolk Southern freight train had been traveling from Binghamton, N.Y., to Harrisburg. There was no word as to why the derailment occurred, said Assistant Chief Floryshak. Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene at 11:55 a.m. and were able to return to service about an hour later, leaving the process of removing the train cars to Norfolk Southern.
Separated from the front of the train, and just six train cars shy of the derailed and overturned section, was a car containing a sodium hydroxide solution. Sodium hydroxide can be corrosive and combustible, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Assistant Chief Floryshak said they were thankful the derailment happened how it did.
“Obviously, not having hazardous materials involved makes it a little bit easier,” he said.
This is the second reported derailment in Lackawanna County in a year. Nine cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed June 23 in Glenburn Twp. Among those derailed cars were three tankers containing residual amounts of anhydrous ammonia. Another carried sulfuric acid.
BY CHARLES SCHILLINGER
The Scranton Times-Tribune
March 9, 2009
Two train cars carrying hazardous materials were intact Monday afternoon after one-fourth of a 43-car freight train derailed in Scranton.
There were no injuries and no Hazmat incidents on the railroad, which runs along the embankment of the McDade Expressway.
But had several train cars derailed and fallen over the embankment onto the road — or had cars containing a sodium hydroxide solution or chlorine leaked — “it could have been a different story,” said Scranton Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Floryshak.
As it turned out though, the train left tracks at a point where four cars derailed and turned on their side away from the Scranton Expressway. Another six train cars also derailed, but did not turn over, though firefighters indicated at least one was still unstable.
The cars that derailed were transporting new motor vehicles and lumber, said Assistant Chief Floryshak.
The Norfolk Southern freight train had been traveling from Binghamton, N.Y., to Harrisburg. There was no word as to why the derailment occurred, said Assistant Chief Floryshak. Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene at 11:55 a.m. and were able to return to service about an hour later, leaving the process of removing the train cars to Norfolk Southern.
Separated from the front of the train, and just six train cars shy of the derailed and overturned section, was a car containing a sodium hydroxide solution. Sodium hydroxide can be corrosive and combustible, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Assistant Chief Floryshak said they were thankful the derailment happened how it did.
“Obviously, not having hazardous materials involved makes it a little bit easier,” he said.
This is the second reported derailment in Lackawanna County in a year. Nine cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed June 23 in Glenburn Twp. Among those derailed cars were three tankers containing residual amounts of anhydrous ammonia. Another carried sulfuric acid.
