Coal cars derail near James River

By Dave Thompson

Published: June 4, 2008

A train derailment in Amherst County on the afternoon of May 27 banged up about 30 coal cars near the Walkers Ford area.

Amherst County Public Safety Director Gary Roakes said the cars, part of a CSX train, derailed at about 4 p.m. on the tracks near the 1700 block of Stapleton Road.

“The cars were turned over, they were on top of each other,” Roakes said. No one was hurt in the wreck.

Roakes said he didn’t receive the call about the accident until about 8:30 p.m that evening.

The tracks run parallel to the James River in that area, but Roakes said none of the lost coal went into the river.

He said there was little work to be done, from a public safety standpoint, because no one was hurt, and the tracks aren’t even visible from that area of Stapleton Road.

“The only thing that’s really hampered is the rail service through there,” he said. “It’s not causing any road blockages, there’s no houses right there in the immediate area either.”

Roakes said it’s fortunate the engine didn’t derail, which would have caused much more serious problems.

“When you deal with those engines, particularly with the diesel fuel,” he said, “we were fortunate.”