(The Canadian Press circulated the following article on April 6.)
JUNIPER, N.B. — It appears that switch tampering by one or more youths may have caused a train derailment in western New Brunswick, says a CN spokesman.
RCMP are investigating after two flatbed cars loaded with lumber went off the tracks Monday in Juniper.
No one was hurt.
Pierre Leclerc, a CN spokesman, said witnesses reported some young people playing with a switch prior to the incident.
He said the padlock had been taken off the switch by a crew to allow trains to enter a spur line in the lumberyard.
“A local resident saw two kids playing with the switch after that,”said Leclerc.
“They probably just lifted up the handle and that releases the lock movement and eventually that causes the track to lose its alignment.”
Leclerc said the derailment happened on a spur line and didn’t affect service along the main rail route through the area.