Friday, April 24, 2009
No injuries reported after train cars derail in Botetourt County
Photo by Cathy Benson | The Botetourt View
Twenty-three train cars derailed this afternoon near Eagle Rock.
From The Botetourt View
About the derailment
Photo gallery
According to Botetourt County Sheriff's Maj. Delbert Dudding, the cars were part of a CSX train.
The crash occurred just west of the James Street Bridge, and officials closed traffic on Virginia 43.
Botetourt Emergency Services Capt. Jason Ferguson said crews from Eagle Rock and Fincastle were dispatched to the derailment and extinguished a brush fire that sprang up near the crash site.
Ferguson said no other property was damaged besides the train cars, some of which are on their side or are upright but off their tracks.
"Coal is the worst thing that's been spilled," he said, adding that "at the present time there's no imminent threat to the water."
The James River, he said, runs approximately 75 to 100 feet from the scene of the crash.
CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said the train consists of two locomotives and 150 freight cars, all of which were carrying coal.
The train was on its way from Danville, West Virginia to Newport News, Sullivan said. He said the cause of the crash is not yet known.
"Coal is the worst thing that's been spilled," he said, adding that "at the present time there's no imminent threat to the water."
The James River, he said, runs approximately 75 to 100 feet from the scene of the crash.
CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said the train consists of two locomotives and 150 freight cars, all of which were carrying coal.
The train was on its way from Danville, West Virginia to Newport News, Sullivan said. He said the cause of the crash is not yet known.
