First off, it wasn’t that bad, so no panic okay. However, when you think about it, it sure could have been worse. While a CSX train was picking up some cars from a side track in Opelika, it started to pull forward and the rail “leaned over”. No train cars were put on their side and apparently the train crew stopped quickly, which saved the train and any damage to the area.
Traffic on that part of the tracks is pretty slow moving, as it joins the main rail line. I suspect it’s that reason that the track wasn’t part of the big maintenance project on the main rail this past year. It might be time to take a look at that in the future. There were several large trucks from an Atlanta outfit that came down to help on this project, from RJ Corman Derailment Services.
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on November 24, 2008. View the original page.
