(The following article by Tracy Manzer was posted on the Press-Telegram website on August 5.)
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A dozen train cars derailed along a bridge on the Westside Thursday, but no one was hurt in the accident, authorities said. Investigators and firefighters were called to the train bridge, near Willow Street and the end of the Terminal Island Freeway, at 12:37 p.m. when the cars came off the track, said Capt. Jim Arvizu, a Long Beach Fire Department spokesman.
“No injuries were reported, and there were no hazardous materials on board that we were notified about,” Arvizu said. “All the cars are still upright. It looks likes a toy train has come off the tracks.”
Arvizu said investigators with three different companies will work to determine the cause of the accident: the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, which owns the locomotive that was pulling the cars; Pacific Harbor Line, which is the contracted company that moves the freight cars; and Union Pacific, which owns the tracks.