(The Associated Press circulated the following on July 5.)
WARTBURG, Tenn. — A Norfolk Southern freight train loaded with shipping containers partially derailed Tuesday afternoon in a secluded area of Morgan County, shutting down the busy line for at least a day.
The southbound train with two locomotives and 20 double-stacked container cars derailed about 2 p.m. Tuesday, company spokeswoman Susan Terpay said.
One car containing alcoholic beverages overturned, she said, spilling some of its contents. Five other cars’ wheels went off the tracks but remained upright.
There were no injuries and the spilled beverage, identified by authorities as whiskey, posed no threat, a sheriff’s dispatcher said.
The busy route northwest of Knoxville carries about 50 trains a day, Terpay said. It was expected to take at least 24 hours to remove the cars and determine if repairs to the track were needed.