(The Associated Press issued the following story on April 3.)
SHREVEPORT, La. — A railroad official on Thursday downplayed the threat posed by nine derailment devices reported stolen since January. But a chief deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service said the devices could be used to sabotage trains.
Tom White, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Association of American Railroads, said rail officials issued an alert over the thefts, but said the missing devices were probably stolen and sold as scrap metal.
The devices were reported missing from rail yards in east Texas. Mike Moriarty, chief deputy U.S. marshal in Shreveport, said he was concerned about the devices because it was suspicious for so many to be stolen in such a short time.
“The devices are quite small and can be deployed by one individual and could create havoc with any train,” Moriarty said.
The portable blocks are attached to rails to prevent equipment from accidentally rolling onto the main rail route from a secondary track.
Seven devices were taken from the Greenville, Texas, area, one from near Lake Hubbard just east of Dallas and one from a Kansas City Southern rail yard in Winnsboro, Texas.
There have been no reported thefts of derailing equipment in Louisiana, Moriarty said.