Big time bad news in Paulsboro NJ

[Ed Kapuscinski]

A bridge collapse under a car of vinyl chloride, on the rather profitable Penns Grove secondary.

This is bad news for locals, AND for CR:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/30/freight-train-derails-spills-chemicals-in-paulsboro-nj-evacuations-ordered/

Thanks to Phil Duba for the heads up.

[conrail98]

Thanks for the cred Ed. Here's another article with a close-up photo/video (if they are allowing it since CP is about to go all paid for their online stuff).

http://www.courierpostonline.com/viewart/20121130/NEWS01/121130001/Chemicals-leak-from-train-derailment-Paulsboro

Scary stuff indeed,

Phil

[DKS]

Ouch, that is really bad news. I used to live in that area. Here's the bridge:  http://binged.it/Qv7UPc

[conrail98]

Watching the live news conference right now, here are my notes:

4 cars in the creek, 1 compromised but that car's contents have dissipated
next steps of concern is the removal as CSAO gets ready to remove
22 people worked/lived in the area that had respiratory issues and some went to the hospital, I didn't catch how much
Next assessment is at noon
Bridge was rebuilt 2 years ago but not sure what part of the
Train had 84 cars, 3 trains per day over the bridge didn't say if that was in both directions or just total. train was going to Logan Twp facility
Bridge had buckled in 2009 which necessitated a rebuild
There's one car that is probably going to be tricky to remove
1 car thats 3/4 in water, and 1 that has the cone in the water, 2 others pointed to the water
Worry is about the tide in that area moving the cars and leading to further compromise of the other 3 cars
Conrail is engaging contractors to come remove and assess damage
Looking at a 2 day effort most likely for cleanup
Capacity of car was 180,000 lbs of product, Vinyl Chloride
Another briefing at 1, check local Philly news sites for more info then.
Continuous air monitoring to ensure no more exposures


I lost about 2/3 minutes with buffering and refresh issues and didn't get to it for the beginning of it when the mayor was speaking

Personal observation, the two spokesmen were very, very good with communication

Phil

[C855B]

Yeah, I saw the headline on Google news this morning and was thinking that one of you was close to and/or familiar with the location. We get a fair amount of vinyl chloride through here on the CN/IC, and a derailment south of here a decade ago evacuated the entire city. Fun stuff.

I presume that the bridge was weakened by Sandy?

(Oh... I'm confused... what's this talk of "Conrail"? I thought they were gone.)

[conrail98]

(Oh... I'm confused... what's this talk of "Conrail"? I thought they were gone.)

That line is run by Conrail Shared Assets Organization (CSAO/CR). All their MOW items are still lettered Conrail as are track indicators. It's owned 57/43 (I think) by NS and CSX, respectively. They have the South Jersey area, some North Jersey area (Lehigh Line to a certain point and Chemical Coast Secondary) and the Detroit area lines. All still dispatched by the Conrail dispatch center in Mt. Laurel, NJ, where Conrail had dispatched the entire system before being broken up.

Phil

[DKS]

Some good coverage here: http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/11/train_derailment_prompts_evacu.html

[C855B]

... This is the same bridge that collapsed in August 2009 ...

Oh, that's not good.

[packers#1]

Reminds me of the NS derailment in Graniteville a few years back, except that was Chlorine gas and a train hit a parked local; chemicals released into the air like that can be nasty. Killed off a big mill in Graniteville b/c the chlorine gas destroyed the machines.

[up1950s]

That bridge look pretty old and spindly . How did it ever get qualified for repair , instead of being replaced .

[jagged ben]

Hard to believe that they rebuilt the bridge 2 years ago and now it has collapsed again.   (Could it have been affected by Sandy?)

[rickb773]

From ABC News and the American Red Cross:


Conflicting reports whether it was a straight bridge collapse or an initial derailment first, but there are reports that neighbors had been complaing to Conrail that the bridge had been making funny noises previously.

Also conflicting reports on casualties but most common is 66 to the local hospital (11 arrived in ambulances).

Concern that rising tide will get to open chemicals and trigger more chemical releases but they are working to prevent that. Situation is currently deemed safe.

[Chris333]

On bing maps I see nothing on the other side that would warrant a swing and lift bridge. That bridge looks like it is a kids science project.

[VonRyan]

On bing maps I see nothing on the other side that would warrant a swing and lift bridge. That bridge looks like it is a kids science project.

It's an old bridge. The point is/was mostly for boats to go up the "crick" (as we locals pronounce "creek"). 10+ years ago, someone i know said even then the bridge looked sketchy. Now it looks like another childhood icon is gone. I just need to go salvage any bits i can as souvenirs, and perhaps even the basis for a future modelling project (PRR/PRSL Paulsboro to Penns Grove layout... in the future).

Speaking of which,
Is there anywhere I can find the "Valuation Maps" of the area during the 30s and early 40s?

-Cody F.

[conrail98]

Speaking of which,
Is there anywhere I can find the "Valuation Maps" of the area during the 30s and early 40s?

-Cody F.

Cody, talk to rickb773 or Tim Harrison from MRC as I thought one of them had track charts from that time period or knew someone who did. Also, meet Rick, he's doing Westville/Woodbury modules. Maybe you can pick it up from there?

Phil