
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990                   TAG: 9003142815
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: PERCH                                LENGTH: Short

CSX CHEMICAL CARS DERAIL

A CSX train carrying chemicals from Kentucky to North Carolina derailed Tuesday morning in Bedford County, sending 12 cars off the track but no injuries or leaks were reported.

CSX spokesman Norm Going of Jacksonville, Fla., said 12 of the train's 126 cars derailed, including two that overturned on the banks of the James River.

One of the chemical cars carried sodium hydroxide, which is used for bleaching wood pulp and making plastic foam. Another car carried sulfuric acid, which is used to make fertilizer. Both cars remained upright during the derailment.

Going said the the accident is under investigation. The railroad also is looking into why local authorities were not notified until three hours after the accident happened.

Bedford County Sheriff Carl Wells said his office is not investigating the derailment because "that's up to the railroad."

The tracks should be cleared by this morning, he said.

Going said the derailed train was headed for Rocky Mount, N.C., where another CSX train collided with an Amtrak train on Tuesday. More than 20 people were injured in that accident.

by CNB