(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 1.)
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — N.C. passenger train service was disrupted Monday after an early morning locomotive fire halted a Norfolk Southern freight train.
The freight’s only passengers, a conductor and an engineer, got off safely and firefighters kept the fire from spreading to the locomotive’s diesel fuel, said Orange Rural Fire Department Capt. Jeff Roberts.
The fire disrupted passenger service that uses the same tracks, the state Department of Transportation said.
Passengers on Amtrak’s southbound Piedmont train were taken by bus from Durham to Charlotte and intermediate points, while the northbound Carolinian train was making all stops Monday.
The state sponsors the Piedmont and Carolinian trains, which offer daily service between Charlotte and Raleigh.