Norfolk Southern General Manager Kraig Barner said 28 trains were derailed Sunday. The company had earlier reported that 20 vehicles were derailed. The two crew members on board were not injured, he said.
Barner said the train had four tankers loaded with hazardous materials. Two of them contained diesel exhaust fluid and the other contained an aqueous solution of polyacrylamide. A hopper loaded with non-toxic plastic pellets derailed and spilled some.
The rest of the train contained two tankers of liquid propane and ethanol and a mix of freight, steel and finished cars that did not overturn, and many of the derailed cars were empty box cars, Barner added.
Around 50 people were left without power after the derailment downed power lines on Sunday evening. The last train was removed from the crash site by 3 p.m. Sunday, Barner said, and Norfolk Southern estimated 12 hours of track work remained.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known and officials said the Central Railway Administration would conduct an investigation. A management representative could not be reached on Sunday.
Shawn Heaton was working on a railroad crossing Saturday when the door came down. He was waiting for the train to leave and was checking his cell phone when he suddenly heard a loud noise and was startled.
As the train cars began to derail, Mr. Heaton looked.
“It’s not really registered and I’ve seen cars actually go sideways,” he said. “I thought I might as well get out of here because it’s so bad and it can go so fast.”