January 5th, 2011 | 
Author: DOUGLASVILLE, GA – Eleven cars from a westbound Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in downtown Douglasville, GA early Tuesday morning, January 4, 2011.
Twisted mass of rail cars and shipping containers in a Norfolk Southern train derailment in Douglasville, GA on Jan 4, 2011.
Douglasville is in Douglas County, Georgia in the northwest-central part of the state about 22 miles west of Atlanta.
The derailment happened about 1:00 a.m. in the morning right in the middle of town along Bankhead Highway between Campbellton St. and Rose Ave.
The mishap created a tangled mess of containers that were loaded with consumer items. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, no railroad workers were hurt and there were no hazardous materials involved.
Officials remark that it was very lucky that the mishap occurred right where it did. None of the businesses in the area were struck and the section of track where the derailment occurred is surrounded by a 20-foot deep embankment.
The gullies that running along each side of the tracks helped to contain the damage and prevent the rail cars from running into any of the nearby buildings.
Location of Norfolk Southern train derailment in downtown Douglasville, GA along Bankhead Highway between Campbellton St. and Rose Ave.
Some trees were uprooted, but no businesses or homes were damaged and the train’s engineer didn’t hit any objects on the tracks.
Officials estimate that there are about 44 trains that use these tracks every day and some are used by Amtrak passenger service.
Emergency crews and equipment came in from as far as Tennessee to cleanup the wreckage and repair the tracks. They arrived early but it is expected to take a lot of time to cleanup the mess.
Cranes and other heavy equipment were brought in to clear the wreckage and to right the cars that jumped the tracks. The derailment site was six blocks long. About 36 container cars had to be cleared. Some of them were double-stacked. Many were from J.B. Hunt but there were also containers from WalMart and UPS.
Officials still do not know what caused the derailment but the train accident is currently under investigation.
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