Train derails in Pacolet
By JANET S. SPENCER | Staff Writer - Spartanburg, SC Herald Journal
PACOLET – Authorities said a thrown switch at a spur line in front of Vulcan Materials might have caused three engines pulling almost two miles of boxcars hauling 432 new BMWs to derail Friday morning.
As the Norfolk Southern engines teetered off the rails, the first boxcar left the tracks and plowed across the ground, pushing up a mound of grass and soil before stopping on West Main Street.
About 20 of 69 cars derailed in three sections.
The train was traveling about 40 mph, said Warren Flatau, spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration.
“We are paying attention to the alignment of the switches and a possible misalignment from a previous run,” he said.
Flatau would not say whether sabotage or vandals flipping the switch might be responsible for the engines being literally thrown off the tracks.
An engineer and conductor were on board the train that was traveling from Atlanta to Charleston, Flatau said.
He said trains were being rerouted to Charlotte, N.C., until the scene is cleared.
Robin Chapman with Norfolk Southern said the route is not a core line but is a major route.
“It adds a number of hours to the trip and keeps our dispatchers busy,” Chapman said.
He said he didn’t know how long traffic would have to be rerouted.
“That depends on how quickly the cleanup goes,” he said.
Assistant Fire Chief Darryl Padgett said cleanup was expected to continue at least through the weekend.
Pacolet firefighters who arrived just after 6 a.m. said diesel fuel from the engines ignited and caused flames to sweep to the tops of several trees, but were quickly extinguished as the fuel burned off.
The morning light soon showed the blackened path to