(The following story by Diana LaMattina appeared on the Ithaca Journal website on January 14.)
ITHACA, N.Y. — Traffic was at a standstill for about two hours Tuesday afternoon as a 100-car northbound train derailed, blocking several major roadways.
“The train had trouble with a coupler or chain,” said Sgt. John Barber of the Ithaca Police Department. “They had to pull the engine forward and backwards 30 or 40 times to get the cars to reconnect.”
The Norfolk-Southern train carrying coal stopped between Cecil Malone Drive and Court Street at approximately 12:30 p.m. Ithaca Police said east and west bound traffic didn’t begin moving again until 2:15 p.m.
No injuries or accidents were attributed to the incident.
The last major derailment in the county occurred in Sept. 1999, when a Norfolk-Southern train dumped about two tons of coal into the Cayuga Inlet when five cars derailed.
In Nov. 1997, three Conrail engines carrying salt through West Danby derailed, emptying 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the Cayuga Inlet.
Norfolk-Southern Railways took control of Tompkins County’s rail tracks from Conrail on June 1, 1999.