Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Train derails in Chesterton Thursday

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Three train cars on the Norfolk-Southern line jumped the tracks early Thursday afternoon at the North Jackson Blvd. grade-crossing.

No one was injured in the derailment and none of the cars actually blocked the public roadway, although North Jackson Blvd. and Wagner Road were closed to traffic until sometime early this morning.

Fire Chief John Jarka told the Chesterton Tribune that the derailment occurred around 1:30 p.m., when 20 to 25 empty flatbed coil haulers being pulled by a westbound engine somehow became disconnected. Three of them jumped the tracks entirely but remained canted upright along the embankment within the railroad’s right-of-way, while the wheels of two more cars left the tracks, Jarka said.

Jarka added that the incident occurred at a switching juncture on the line.

Chesterton firefighters did use a 10-pound dry chemical extinguisher to smother a small fire which ignited beneath one of the derailed cars.

The CFD cleared the scene at 1:50 p.m.

Chesterton Police also responded to the scene but have not yet released a report on the incident. As of deadline today, Norfolk-Southern had not replied to a query from the Tribune.

 

Posted 7/5/2019

 
 
 
 

 

 

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