Major fire, explosion after train derails in Lynchburg, Virginia

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Oil train derailed and on fire in Lynchburg, Virginia

Last edited Thu May 1, 2014, 03:11 PM - Edit history (4)

OIL Train derailed and on fire in Lynchburg VA

Date: 04/30/14 11:26
OIL Train derailed and on fire in Lynchburg VA
Author: emd_mrs1
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http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/train-derails-in-downtown-lynchburg/article_a28bf610-d092-11e3-b96d-001a4bcf6878.html

It is said (confirmed) to be an oil train headed for Yorktown VA. Big cloud of black smoke. More to come....

Picture

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/train-derails-in-downtown-lynchburg/article_a28bf610-d092-11e3-b96d-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=image&photo=0

BIG fire picture, includes riverbank brush.



Train info:
"There was a crude oil train on duty at 0915 out of Clifton Forge..."

Burning oil is flowing in the James River too.

Live coverage (for now) http://www.wset.com/story/25392359/train-has-derailed-in-lynchburg

Appears under control 3pm.

Michael

Later posts show that it had the symbol KO82.

For those of you who are not train enthusiasts, a train with the symbol "KO82" is an eastbound train on CSX carrying oil from Cicero, Illinois, to Yorktown, Virginia, where there had been a refinery owned by Amoco. The facility now handles barge loading, and it is owned and operated by Plains All American Pipeline LP.

CSX K Series: Bulk Commodity unit trains

This train was travelling on the old Chesapeake and Ohio Railway James River line, which follows the James River all the way from just outside Clifton Forge, Virginia, to the Chesapeake Bay. These tracks are right down by the river. They run in an east-west direction. Lynchburg is also served by Norfolk Southern, but that carrier is not involved.

Train carrying crude oil derails in downtown Lynchburg

I can't tell from the pictures whether the tank cars were of the DOT-111 design. That design was the subject of much discussion in last week's hearings at the National Transportation Safety Board.

Train derails in downtown Lynchburg

Oil train accidents were the topic of National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman last week at a two-day safety forum in Washington.

Hersman said the Obama administration needed to take steps immediately to protect the public from potentially catastrophic oil train accidents even if it means using emergency authority.