(The Birmingham News posted the following article by Vivi Abrams on its website on June 14.)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — By Friday night, Townley’s Main Street was open, but Highway 102 was still closed after a morning train derailment that knocked 13 cars off track, officials said.
Danny Jones, chief of the volunteer Townley Fire Department, said the derailment happened at 5:55 a.m. when an 18-wheeler full of lumber careened into the train at the intersection of Highway 102 and Highway 124.
He said the truck’s brakes failed. The driver was taken to University Hospital and was in critical condition, Jones said. The driver’s name was not available.
The 13 cars, including several tanker cars, were empty, but it took rescue and railroad workers all day to clean the debris from the wreck including lumber that scattered across the highways and to repair the track.
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway train had been headed west from Jasper toward Carbon Hill, Jones said. The truck came downhill on the way from Fayette toward Townley, and struck the train, knocking all but two railcars off track, Jones said.
The Townley Fire Department, Carbon Hill rescue workers, Alabama State Troopers, the Walker County Sheriff’s office, Regional Paramedic Service and railroad personnel responded. The Townley Fire Department has had experience with such derailments, Jones said; several weeks ago, six coal cars were derailed.