(The following article by David Brewer was posted on the Huntsville Times website on May 21.)
SHERWOOD, Tenn. — A CSX Railroad train derailed Friday morning near Sherwood, Tenn., just north of the Alabama-Tennessee line in Franklin County.
Two of the derailed cars contained hydrochloric acid, said CSX spokesman David Hall, but those cars remained upright and did not leak.
The train, which included three engines and 69 cars, was traveling from Louisville, Ky., to Waycross, Ga., when 16 of its cars derailed, he said.
Hall said the train’s engineer and conductor were not hurt.
The derailment occurred about 9:35 a.m. in a remote, densely wooded hollow between Sherwood and Sewanee where the University of the South is located.
Hall said the cause of the derailment has not been determined. He said the company’s mechanical engineers and other experts are investigating the incident.
Most of the cars that derailed, cars 28 to 44, were carrying general merchandise, Hall said.
CSX called a Kentucky company that specializes in cleaning up train derailments, to recover the derailed cars. The company’s cleanup crews arrived about mid-afternoon Friday.
Hall said the track is expected to be reopened later today.