Day 2: Cleaning up CSX Train Derailment

FALMOUTH, Ky. (WTVQ)-CSX officials are actually moving pretty fast. they say all this mess could be outta here in a matter of days rather than weeks.

CSX Communications Director Rob Doolittle says, “I’d like to start by apologizing to the residents of Falmouth and Pendleton County. CSX appreciates that we’ve caused a disruption here and we’re working as quickly as we can to safely restore things to the way we’ve found them.”

So far more than half of the 24 cars that came off the tracks Thursday morning have been re-railed. Five cranes are helping to do the job.

Property owner Larry Ritter says, “When I pulled in I turned in this street and I thought oh my god look at all this equipment up and down here.”

CSX contractors drove in heavy machinery from from all over, as far as states like North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Doolittle says, “The process involves assessing each car and the position that it’s in and moving very slowly and deliberately to lift it in that position and lift it where it can be maneuvered.”

Ritter rents out a property right across from the tracks and saw the whole thing happen.

He says, “I could see it from sort of the angle from the back and the cars were fishtailing what Ii call fishtailing weaving from left to right.”

Only one of the cars that toppled over was carrying sulfuric acid, but none leaked out into the atmosphere, making the cleanup process much less complicated.

Doolittle says, “Not all of the cars were heavily damaged in this incident and many of them we’ll be able to put back on their rails and move them away from the side like we normally would.”

With all roads but one back open, Ritter says things are seeming like they’re almost back to normal.

“When you stop and think about it this is not there first rodeo. you know, they’ve done this before.”

Although this cleanup process is moving fairly quickly there’s still no updates on the investigation which officials say could take months.

Federal Railroad Administration crews were on site yesterday along with CSX investigators. Today, environmental clean up and air quality monitoring specialists were helping CSX with the recovery process.