Norfolk Southern Train Derails Spilling 3000 Gallons of Fuel near National Forest

June 23rd, 2010 |

OLD FORT, NC – A Norfolk Southern train moving about a mile away from the Pisgah National Forest derailed just before 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 17, 2010 spilling 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The mishap occurred just west of Old Fort, NC while heading west up the Old Fort Mountain.

Norfolk Southern train derails near Pisgah National Forest on Thursday, June 17, 2010.

Old Fort is in McDowell County, North Carolina in the eastern part of the state, about 24 miles east of Asheville, about 251 miles west of Raleigh, about 172 miles southwest of Greensboro, about 124 miles northwest of Charlotte and about 358 miles northwest of Jacksonville.

The mishap was reported at 6:15 a.m. in the Mill Creek area just west of Old Fort.

According to an article in the SunNews.com website, Bill Benge of the Old Fort Volunteer Fire Department says two engines and 10 cars of the Norfolk Southern train were involved in the derailment and that the diesel fuel that leaked from one of the engines didn’t contaminate any waterways.

In the same article, a Norfolk Southern spokesman, Robin Chapman said that the 110-car train was going to Knoxville, Tennesse from Linwood, North Carolina. Chapman said that one of the derailed engines leaked diesel fuel after it landed on its side.

Location of the Norfolk Southern train derailment just west of Old Fort, NC According to media reports, no one was injured in the derailment.

In another article in the Citizen-Times.com, Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said that The diesel fuel that leaked out of one engine’s fuel tanks that was likely caused by a puncture.

According to Chapman, the derailed cars were empty boxcars and that the railroad company has put barriers around the leaked fuel and will remove the tainted dirt and replace it.

Authorities say that the diesel fuel did not enter any stream.

Also mentioned in the Citizen-Times.com article, Director Terry Young from McDowell County Emergency Management said that he would be monitoring the spill to make sure to mitigate the environmental damage.

The derailment site was not accessible by the public. Even the media had trouble getting any photos.

It appeared that trains were moving by late Thursday.

Norfolk Southern officials are still trying to determine the cause of the accident.

Published by fela lawyer Gordon &amp Elias, LLP