U.S.

Train Wreck Finally Cleared

July 18, 2001 / 8:00 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Crews removed the last smoldering railroad car from a downtown tunnel Monday, five days after a CSX train derailed and created chaos across this East Coast city.

The last car emerged shortly after 7 a.m. from the north end of the 1 1/2-mile-long tunnel, guided by bulldozers and pulled out by a CSX locomotive.

“I think for everybody it's a relief. It's like the Holy Grail to have the final boxcar out of the tunnel, but there's still a lot more work to do,” CSX spokesman Rob Gould said.

The car was the last of 60 on the train that derailed Wednesday afternoon. A fire on the train sent smoke billowing across the city for days, ruptured a water main, burned fiber optic cables that carry Internet service and forced the cancellation of three Baltimore Oriole major league baseball games at nearby Camden Yards.

Crews planned to vent the tunnel before sending structural engineers in to inspect it, Gould said. National Transportation Safety Board inspectors also planned to go in to gather more information on the accident.

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Streets passing over the tunnel were closed for a sixth day. Transportation and public works officials said the city's Light Rail line — a popular mode of transportation for commuters and Baltimore Orioles fans — would remain partially closed indefinitely as efforts began to replace the water main and rebuild the intersection between Lombard and Howard streets.

As the car exited the tunnel, firefighters stood by to extinguish the stubborn blaze burning in the car's wood and paper cargo.

“People normally think, 'How can paper cause such a problem?' But when it's rolled, and it's compacted, it's a very deep-seated fire and it's difficult to extinguish,” Fire Department spokesman Hector Torres said.

Four cars, smoke billowing from their gutted interiors, were removed Sunday — two from the south end of the tunnel, and two from the north end.

Mayor Martin O'Malley participated in an informal inspection Sunday, descending into the tunnel for a 45-minute tour in firefighter's pants and boots.

An engineer who accompanied the mayor “is encouraged that when the tunnel is finally checked out, it will be structurally sound,” O'Malley said.

The total cost of the damage was not immediately known, but talk of restitution has begun.

“We've had preliminary discussions with the city,” Gould said. “We initiated that discussion with them because it's the right thing to do.”

Torres said all hazardous materials carried by the train were removed Saturday, and environmental checks turned up no serious damage to air or water quality.