SANDUSKY, Ohio — Ten cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed on a bridge over a street underpass in Sandusky on Saturday, sending tank cars and debris onto the street below and blocking a line used by Amtrak as well as NS trains.
WTOL-TV reports the derailment occurred about 4 p.m., closing Columbus Avenue. The station was told by an NS spokesman that the derailed cars were carrying paraffin wax, some of which spilled but posed no hazardous-material threat.
No injuries were reported. The derailment knocked down a power pole, interrupting electrical service to about 1,300 utility customers.
Amtrak announced on its Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed on Saturday evening that the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited would be detoured between Elyria, Ohio, and Toledo on Sunday mornig, bypassing their scheduled stops in Sandusky. (Those are scheduled at 12:40 a.m. for the eastbound Capitol, 4:01 a.m. for the westbound Capitol, 4:03 a.m. for the eastbound Lake Shore and 5:09 a.m. for the westbound Lake Shore). Passengers were advised to board in Elyria or Toledo.
The trains were combined at Toledo eastbound and Cleveland westbound, switching off their former New York Central route to Norfolk Southern’s ex-Nickel Plate trackage at Oak Harbor, west of Sandusky, and at Vermillion, Ohio, east of the derailment. They operated as a single train in both directions through Bellevue, the former center of many Nickel Plate’s operations.
The Capitol sustained the biggest delays because it was the earlier train to arrive and had to await the Lake Shore before both trains were coupled together. The combined trains lost about two hours in each direction on the detour, and maintained that delay thereafter, with arrivals in Chciago before noon and the eastbound Lake Shore two hours late at Utica, N.Y. Because it had been held the longest at Toledo, the eastbound Capitol, departed Cumberland, Md., 5 hours, 46 minutes late.
Detour not repeated for Sunday trains
The detour was not repeated for Sunday departures. The Capitol Limited was cancelled entirely and the Lake Shore was set to run Chicago-Toledo eastbound Sunday and westbound Monday morning, with the New York City-Toledo segment cancelled. The Lake Shore’s Boston section was scheduled westbound Sunday and eastbound Monday.
Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams tells Trains News Wire that the outright cancellations Sunday were “based on what Norfolk Southern can accommodate” on the detour route. However, the westbound Lake Shore is scheduled to arrive into Cleveland at 3:53 a.m., with its eastbound counterpart departing at 5:50 a.m., so there has been no explanation why the train is not being operated to serve passengers at Cleveland, Erie, and upstate New York.
— Updated October 9 with timekeeping, detour, and cancellation specifics. Correspondent Bob Johnston contributed to this report.
Another day another disruptive derailment. Those of you who think Amtrac can’t run a railroad might consider that the Railroads can’t run a railroad either.
I checked, it does say UTILITY customers. Unless all utility customers were passengers……..endmrw1011220912
Umm, “interrupting electrical service to about 1,300 passengers”?
With NS taking over the former Conrail Chicago Line, NS installed connections with former NKP at Oak Harbor and just west of Vermilion. The two routes are very close to each other in open farm land. At Oak Harbor the NKP crosses over the Chicago Line and the connection is just west of that. I would say this mostly single track route was straining to handle reroutes along with a lack of crews. But, the question does beg to be asked why not turn the WB Lakeshore at Cleveland? And why not a bus bridge between Cleveland and Toledo? Cleveland station track is rarely used by freight and power could easily be run around the train there. If the power was running elephant style a quick trip to Rockport Yard and use the Y there.
Former N P to Former NYC crossovers both east & wesrbound just west of Vermilion.
Guessing that the Amtrak detour will take the old NKP? They have used CSX in the past.