(The following story by Katie O’Connor and Dan Kelley appeared on the Times Herald website on July 29.)
EAST NORRITON, Pa. — A freight train derailed at about 3 a.m. Thursday near Timberlake Apartments, spilling tons of grain onto the ground and causing a temporary power outage.
The tracks run through the Norristown Farm Park and are owned by Norfolk Southern Corp., according to Norfolk Southern spokesman Rudy Husband, but the train actually belongs to CSX.
Jane Covington, a spokeswoman for CSX, explained that the train was out of Lansdale and is referred to as a “local train,” because it uses an “industrial spur,” or a track off the main line, to pick up and drop off freight to local businesses.
“CSX is conducting a joint investigation into the derailment with Norfolk Southern,” Covington said. “But there was nothing hazardous and nothing leaked.”
Lt. Kurt Taboga said police found out about the derailment through someone who saw it off the bike path.
“It happened at 3 a.m., but no one from the train companies notified us,” he said. “A passerby told us.”
Several residents of Timberlake Apartments were surprised when they learned about the derailment.
“I heard the train passing and I heard the squeal of it stopping, but no crash,” Steven Hankin said. “It was unusually loud.”
Another resident, Zach Kinsey, said some of his family members were awake at the time of the derailment.”
“We heard the train squeal and the power went out for about 10 minutes,” Kinsey said. “But other than that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.”
Covington said crews would be out Friday morning to upright the overturned train cars and to continue their investigation.