(The following Associated Press article was published on January 6 at http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com.)
BIG BEAVER, Pa. — Two boxcars full of mayonaise were part of a 33-car train derailment Sunday and thousands of jars of mayo spilled onto the tracks.
Other boxcars containing corn kernels and plastic pellets also lost their loads, as did a tanker filled with molasses.
Two trains were running side-by-side when the boxcars and tankers derailed shortly after 9 a.m. in Big Beaver, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. No crew members on the twin eastbound Norfolk Southern trains were injured.
Two tankers containing alcohol and styrene were also among those derailed, but neither leaked, said Jeff Pinkerton, chief of the Big Beaver Fire Department.
Heavy equipment was brought in to lift the cars so the tracks could be repaired by Norfolk Southern crews.
It was not immediately clear what caused the trains to derail. Railroad officials said the tracks weren’t expected to be reopened until Monday.