Local News

Train derails near Mill Run

Ten cars derailed, including three tank cars carrying hazardous material; no leaks, spills reported

Ten cars on an eastbound Norfolk Southern train derailed just west of Mill Run Road early Friday afternoon, including three tank cars containing Liquefied Petroleum Gas, a hazardous material -- but none of those cars were leaking, according to local and NS officials.

"No leaks, no spills, no reports of injuries," said NS spokeswoman Heather Garcia in a phone conversation later in the afternoon.

An NS contractor with the expertise and equipment to clear the wreckage was expected to arrive about 7 p.m., said Logan Township Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Lynch.

The focal point of the derailment, where two tank cars were lying on the steep railroad embankment, pointing down, was just off the backyard of the Pine Avenue home of Carolyn O'Keefe.

Having lived at the house for 23 years, O'Keefe was used to the normal "banging" of rail traffic. But this time, "it kept getting louder and louder," she said. "It sounded like the worst thunder," she said. "Boom, boom -- a metallic sound."

As soon as she realized something out of the ordinary was in progress, she ran out to her driveway, as her husband ran out of their house to their porch, and they both saw railcars sliding down the embankment, whose bottom is separated from their yard by perhaps 60 feet of brush and small trees.

"I expected them to just keep coming," Carolyn said of the railcars that stopped as they encountered the bottom of the slope and the vegetation on it.

In keeping with a 2024 agreement with NS, local emergency officials now receive RapidSOS information about derailed trains, with details about each car and what they're carrying, according to Altoona Fire Chief Adam Free, head of the Blair County hazmat team.

That information was also obtained by railfans who checked out the Railroaders Memorial Museum's Horseshoe Curve webcam feed, officials said.

One apparent indication that the LPG tank cars weren't leaking was the lack of a "rotten eggs" smell, local officials said.

A drone video, however, showed that one of those cars was labeled "non-odorized," meaning that if the LPG had been leaking, it wouldn't have smelled, as propane and butane, of which LPG consists, has no odor, according to online sources.

Even when non-odorized, LPG leaking should have been apparent because, freed of pressure, it would have turned from liquid into gas, which would have been visible as a cloud of vapor hugging the ground -- as propane and butane are heavier than air, according to Free and online sources.

NS confirmed that the tank cars weren't leaking, Free said.

Two of the railfans at the scene were Dave Reinhart and his son Collin of Quakertown, near Philadelphia.

The pair have traveled to Altoona, where Collin went to college, three times this year, and each time, a derailment has occurred during their stay, Dave said.

No offense, but don't come back, Lynch suggested, joking.

Because the derailed cars remained on railroad property, and there were no leaks or injuries, and NS wasn't asking for outside help, the incident was the railroad's to handle, according to Lynch.

Had there been a leak of the LPG, "we wouldn't be standing here," however, Lynch said.

Given the proximity of many homes, a significant evacuation would likely have been required, he said.

If they'd had to evacuate, her family could have "crashed" at her mother's house, O'Keefe said, perhaps using wildly appropriate slang for finding a place to sleep, given the circumstances.

One of the reasons that emergency officials remained at the scene for hours was concern about potential risk associated with the ultimate retrieval of the LPG cars, said Rusty Shoenfelt, chief of Logan Township United Fire Department.

Those cars would need to be moved either while full, or after their contents would be pumped into another railcar or after those contents would be burned off -- so it makes sense to be ready in case "something goes awry," Shoenfelt said.

Given the number of derailments that have occurred in recent times near Altoona, the area has been fortunate that no serious harm has resulted, Lynch said.

The drone video showed that the accident tore up a large section of the track closest to the city neighborhood of Toytown, which was the one the train was riding on, while also tearing up a small section of the middle track.

In that area, there is a third track that didn't seem to be damaged.

The train was coming from Pittsburgh, with half the cars destined for Allentown and the rest for Jersey City, Dave Reinhart said.

Because of the derailment, the No. 43 Pennsylvanian was canceled between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, according to an announcement on the Amtrak website.

Amtrak was trying to obtain alternate bus transportation for affected passengers.

As the evening progressed, a local company was setting up light towers, so the cleanup contractors could work in the dark, Lynch said.

The workers wouldn't be messing around, as NS would be eager to get the tracks reopened, Lynch predicted.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.