I
do this blog to record the progress on my PRSL model railroad layout and to document what I learn about the real PRSL and it's transitions
to Conrail and finally Conrail Shared Assets (CSA) (which is now controlled by
Norfolk Southern and CSX). This post will document the train wreck that took
place Friday November 30th in Paulsboro, NJ.
Paulsboro
is a refinery town located on the CSA branch to Deepwater. Besides the refinery,
this branch supports a major DuPont complex and a large power plant. Having
this line out of operation will cost them a lot of money and they are still a week or
two away from getting it cleaned up.
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| American Red Cross |
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| ABC News |
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| Rich Taylor |
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| Rich Taylor |
From
the Dec. 1, 2012 Gloucester County Times:
"... residents living within a 12-block radius of the accident scene were
moved from their homes as a precautionary measure in the face of residual
levels of vinyl chloride — a toxic, colorless and flammable gas that causes
irritation, headache, shortness of breath and dizziness — in the air. ...In
all, approximately 500 people have been evacuated from their homes as of
Saturday morning.
“Clean-up will commence after the [National Transportation Safety Board]
concludes its investigation at the scene,” said Moore. “The focus for us will
be the safety of the people around the scene and the first responders.”
Conrail, which owns and maintains the rail bridge, has placed 106 families in
area hotels. ...
“They’re paying for everything — food and lodging.”
Officials at Underwood Memorial Hospital, in Woodbury, said 10 people walked
into the medical center’s emergency department reporting respiratory problems
Saturday afternoon, bringing the total of number of residents complaining about
the detrimental effects of the vinyl chloride in the air to 86.
“There have been no admissions, however,” said Molly Tritt, a spokeswoman for
Underwood. “They have been treated and released.”
According to NTSB Chairwoman Debrorah Hersman, in a press conference at the
Paulsboro Fire Department, the conductor of the train that derailed Friday
morning first came upon a stop light before crossing the bridge.
“There was a conductor and an engineer in the front part of the first
locomotive. They approached the movable bridge and there is a red signal there;
a stop signal,” said Hersman, adding that the bridge was in the “closed”
position, meaning that it was closed to water traffic, but appeared open to
trains. “This is an unusual position to see the bridge in at that time — they
would have expected to see the bridge in an open position, and by that we mean
open to recreational vessels over the waterway.”
According to Hersman, the conductor and engineer “keyed in” a signal over radio
to close the bridge and show a green light. However, the light remained red.
At that point, the conductor exited the train to examine the crossing bridge.
The conductor observed it appeared safe to cross, and had the engineer signal
the bridge three more times for a green light, according to statements made by
the engineer and conductor to NTSB officials, Hersman said. All three attempts
failed.
The engineer then called Conrail dispatch over the radio.
“He received approval to cross the bridge and pass that red signal,” said
Hersman. “Two locomotives and several cars made it across the bridge and were
one other side when crew stated they saw the bridge collapse and pulled the
emergency break.”
Five cars made it over the bridge, which is 200 feet long, without incident.
The sixth car, carrying plastic pellets, and the seventh car, carrying lumber,
derailed onto land. The eighth car derailed partially onto land and partially
in water, and was carrying ethanol. Cars 9, 10 and 11 were all carrying vinyl
chloride. Cars 9, 10 and 11 all derailed into the water, with car 10 containing
the 1- by 3-foot breech in the hull, which caused the leak of vinyl chloride.
Car 12, also containing vinyl chloride, had also derailed but is still
partially on the bridge. Car 13 is standing upright, still coupled to car 12.
Hersman stated data recording devices recovered from one of the locomotives
indicate that the train had been moving at a speed of 8 mph just before the
emergency brake was engaged. The speed limit over the bridge is 10 mph.
The freight train had been traveling south from Camden, leaving at 5 a.m. on
it's way to Carney's Point, in Salem County.
According to the NTSB, the punctured tank was built in 1990 by Trinity
Industries, based in Dallas, and contained between 23,000 and 24,000 pounds of
vinyl chloride.
“We are continuing to question the crew — the conductor, the locomotive
engineer and the dispatcher — as well as other crews who may have traversed the
bridge in the days prior to the accident,” said Hersman, adding that between
four and eight trains crossed the bridge on daily basis before the collapse.
“And so we still have some work to do.”
Hersman stated the NTBS is still waiting for clearance from the U.S. Coast
Guard to guarantee the area is safe for investigators to gather evidence at the
scene.
As
of today, December 3rd, the people removed from their homes will not be allowed
to return for an estimated 2 weeks! Car removal is currently halted.
UPDATES:
Dec 9: 329 people have returned to their homes; 30 people still not allowed back
Dec 10: "A" frame removed
Dec 11: Crane beginning to remove cars
Dec 15: First trains over the bridge (locked in place)
