Crews still working to clean fuel spill

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - Federal and state crews continue working to clean up a 1,700-gallon diesel fuel spill in the Intracoastal Waterway in Chesapeake after a train engine derailed from a bridge over the water at 5 a.m. Friday.

The railroad bridge that spans the waterway was in the up position when the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad train tried to cross. The engine stopped just beyond the end of the tracks and remained hanging over the edge.

Capt. John Little with the U.S. Coast Guard told WAVY.com, “As it approached the bridge and passed through a couple of barriers, one of those barriers breached the diesel tanks.”

As of 6 p.m. Friday, crews had removed more than 500 gallons of the diesel fuel from the water. Lt. Cmdr. Robert Gore with the USCG told WAVY.com crews used a large boom to contain the spill and then a skimmer to remove as much diesel as possible.

The crash and initial response startled people who live at the edge of the tracks.

“My daughter said she heard something and knew something was up," said George Midgette. "I got up, looked through the window and I saw a helicopter with a search light. I thought they were chasing somebody.”

Midgette and his wife Anita can watch the trains run through their backyard daily. They say they usually see a bridge operator just ahead of the engine.

“Right on the other side of the tracks is the road he uses. The bridge is always up, until the train is coming and then the bridge tender will come and put the bridge down and the train goes by,” Anita said.

But it is still not clear what happened to cause the accident. Investigators are trying to learn why the engine kept moving until its wheels hung in the air and its fuel spilled into the water.

According to Federal Railway Administration guidelines, investigators will interview the train engineer and conductor. Both work for Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad, which is owned by Rail America.

A spokesperson for the company sent WAVY a news release acknowledging the incident and stating:

"The railroad is working closely with appropriate local and national agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, to clean up the spill. No one was injured during the incident and public health is not threatened. Service updates will be provided to customers as information is available."

It is still not clear how long it will take to get the locomotive off the tracks to examine it more closely and re-open the tracks.

“The Federal Railway Commission is there," Little said. "The Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad company is also looking at what it's going to take to get that engine removed safely."

Little said the waterway could remain closed past the weekend if engineers decide they need to bring in a barge to remove the train.