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

DATE: SATURDAY, March 20, 1993                   TAG: 9303200325
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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BLUEFIELD DERAILMENT INVESTIGATED

Investigation is continuing into the Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailment early Monday in Bluefield that caused about $2 million in damage and injured a crew member returning to his Roanoke home.

"I think it was storm-related because it was at the height of the storm," J.W. Fox Jr., general manager of the railroad's eastern region, said this week.

The derailment caused 12 multilevel rail cars carrying 180 automobiles and five locomotives to tumble down an embankment just east of the railroad yard in Bluefield. The train, 78 cars in all, was hauling automobiles from Bellevue, Ohio, to Winston-Salem, N.C., when the accident occurred.

Federal investigators were on the scene much of the week in an effort to determine what caused the accident, railroad officials said. The probe included examination of the lead locomotive's speed tapes, which track the train's speed, braking and other running conditions.

Spokesman Bob Auman said work crews retrieved the last of 12 multilevel auto racks Thursday afternoon and then turned their attention to the five locomotives - each weighing nearly 400,000 pounds. The first locomotive was retrieved late Thursday.

The injured worker, R.E. Barnette of Roanoke, was a passenger on the train - and not an active crew member - when the accident occurred. He was treated for a broken leg and sent home, officials said. - DANIEL HOWES

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