http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 005/NEWS01
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
DAILY RECORD
HANOVER -- Railroad workers using torches to cut up an old freight locomotive for scrap metal started a small fire this morning that was quickly put out by the Cedar Knolls Fire Department.
The workers apparently cut into a part of the locomotive that is insulated with a flammable material, Cedar Knolls Fire Chief Jim Davidson said. The fire scorched the cab of a locomotive at the Morristown &-Erie Railway yard at the corner of South Jefferson Road and Eden Lane.
No one was hurt, officials said. The fire was called in about 11:15 a.m. and was put out in a matter of minutes. Fire officials said it was similar to putting out a car fire.
"One of our firefighters was driving by after refueling an ambulance, saw the smoke and called it in," Davidson said.
Al Siebold, a Morristown & Erie official, said it's not uncommon for workers cutting into locomotives to ignite insulation in metal doors, which usually is made of plywood or particleboard.
"It's kind of routine, and they normally handle it with a fire extinguisher," said Siebold, a special agent with the Morristown & Erie railroad police. "It just got away."
The fire was contained to one of two diesel-electric locomotives hitched together at the rail yard. Siebold said both locomotives were scheduled to be cut up for scrap metal. They are about 50 years old, he said, and had been used years ago to haul freight. Diesel engines that provided power for electric motors to run the locomotives already had been removed, he said.
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF
DAILY RECORD
HANOVER -- Railroad workers using torches to cut up an old freight locomotive for scrap metal started a small fire this morning that was quickly put out by the Cedar Knolls Fire Department.
The workers apparently cut into a part of the locomotive that is insulated with a flammable material, Cedar Knolls Fire Chief Jim Davidson said. The fire scorched the cab of a locomotive at the Morristown &-Erie Railway yard at the corner of South Jefferson Road and Eden Lane.
No one was hurt, officials said. The fire was called in about 11:15 a.m. and was put out in a matter of minutes. Fire officials said it was similar to putting out a car fire.
"One of our firefighters was driving by after refueling an ambulance, saw the smoke and called it in," Davidson said.
Al Siebold, a Morristown & Erie official, said it's not uncommon for workers cutting into locomotives to ignite insulation in metal doors, which usually is made of plywood or particleboard.
"It's kind of routine, and they normally handle it with a fire extinguisher," said Siebold, a special agent with the Morristown & Erie railroad police. "It just got away."
The fire was contained to one of two diesel-electric locomotives hitched together at the rail yard. Siebold said both locomotives were scheduled to be cut up for scrap metal. They are about 50 years old, he said, and had been used years ago to haul freight. Diesel engines that provided power for electric motors to run the locomotives already had been removed, he said.
