(The Associated Press circulated the following article on October 22.)
NEW BRIGHTON, Pa. — With stubborn fires finally out, crews worked to remove the final tanker of a derailed train from the tracks early Monday, clearing the way for rail traffic to resume where several tankers jumped the rails and burst into flames three days earlier.
The last fire on the only tanker from the toppled train remaining on the tracks was declared out just after 11 p.m. Sunday, New Brighton Borough Manager Larry Morley said.
The train pulling 86 tanker cars was traveling from Chicago to New Jersey when it derailed Friday in southwest Pennsylvania. At least nine of the cars leaked ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and caught fire. No one was injured.
About 50 nearby residents were evacuated for fear of possible explosions. Most were allowed to return home Sunday, and Morley said he expected the final 10 families to return to their homes on Monday.
The remaining ethanol was to be pumped from the tanker, the tracks were to be cleared and normal traffic could resume on one of the two tracks crossing the bridge spanning the Beaver River as early as Monday, Morley said.
A family assistance center was set up at a church, where Norfolk Southern representatives offered to compensate residents who had to spend the night in hotels and pay for meals away from home.
Federal investigators removed data recorders from the train on Saturday. Agents from the National Transportation Safety Board also removed a section of track that was broken in two when 23 cars from the train’s midsection derailed.
Robert Sumwalt, vice chairman of the NTSB, said late Sunday the train’s crew told investigators the train was running well until it automatically applied emergency brakes because pneumatic brake lines between cars had been severed.
”They looked behind them, they saw the train was on fire,” he said. ”The engineer contacted 911, he contacted the dispatcher, and then they evacuated the locomotive cabin.”
It was unclear how the brakes were severed.
Preliminary indications from the train’s data recorders showed that the train was traveling 36 to 39 mph when it crashed, Sumwalt said. The speed limit is 45 mph over the river.
Betsey Mallison, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said her agency was working with Norfolk Southern to clean up some soil contamination, but ”we don’t expect any problems with any water supplies.”
Norfolk Southern spokesman Rudy Husband would not comment on the condition of the half-mile long bridge before the accident, but said company officials inspect mainline tracks like the ones on the bridge at least twice a week.
Railroad engineers will examine the bridge for structural soundness, but Sumwalt said they cannot conduct inspections until the burning cars are removed.
NTSB officials planned to gather maintenance records and interview witnesses, including train crew members.
The derailment happened about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh on tracks used by 50 to 70 trains each day. Husband said officials were working on a detour plan.
The derailment was affecting Amtrak’s Capitol Limited, which makes one round trip daily between Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Until that section of track reopens, each one-way trip will take about 2 1/2 hours longer because the train is being detoured onto tracks between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said.
Also Sunday, a train carrying a potentially flammable liquid derailed near a residential area in southwest Arkansas, causing churches to cancel services and prompting evacuation orders for as many as 75 people. No injuries were reported.