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Dec 25, 2023

Mahoningtown train derailment damage set at $6.1 million

Paginator A May 10 Norfolk Southern train derailment in Mahoningtown has

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A May 10 Norfolk Southern train derailment in Mahoningtown has resulted in $6.1-million damage to the company's equipment and track infrastructure, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

In its preliminary findings, NTSB's report focused on hot bearing detectors and how there seemed to be no audible alarm before the train derailed.

About 38 minutes after the bearings got too hot, nine freight railcars derailed. One car had hazardous materials but there was no breach and no one was injured.

According to the report, NTSB found that signal maintainers had performed maintenance on the Youngstown Line between Conway Yard and New Castle on May 8. This maintenance included detaching and re-attaching track-mounted components.

It was later determined that the transducers were attached incorrectly and reporting reversed train travel directions. So, a northbound train would be reported as southbound.

The 216-car train was traveling at about 28 miles per hour at the time of the derailment, less than the maximum authorized speed of 40 mph, according to the NTSB.

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The NTSB said its investigation is ongoing. It will continue to look at the wheel-set and bearing, Norfolk Southern's use of hot bearing detectors and Norfolk Southern's railcar inspection practices.

On Wednesday, a Wampum trucking company, hauled two 70-ton steel girders to Mahoningtown for repairing the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge damaged by the derailment.

Dave Byers, president of Southern Pines Trucking, said he understands the 107-foot-long girders will be used to repair a portion of the bridge over the Mahoning River. The girders are four feet wide and six feet tall.

Efforts to reach a representative from Norfolk Southern were unsuccessful.

Byers is no stranger to hauling large loads. Southern Pines last week hauled a 150-ton steel cone to Reichard Industries in Columbiana, Ohio.

The route took the driver onto Interstate 80 west and through Jefferson, Clarion, Butler, Venango and Mercer counties.

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