Chaos in Chandler
No injuries reported when 28 cars derailed in Chandler Sunday

Wanda Nichols Photos TRAIN DERAILMENT -- Twenty-eight cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Sunday afternoon just west of the Neches River in Chandler. A fire possibly caused by metal scraping metal fed off a glycerine lubricant leaking from one of the tankers also burned creosote-treated rail ties and nearby brush. Pictured, an overturned tanker spills white ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer-type product onto the ground.

It was like a scene from a 70's disaster flick when a Union Pacific train derailed Sunday afternoon in Chandler.

Less than an hour after 28 of the train's 115 cars went off the track in a wooded area just west of the Neches River trestle bridge, and south of Highway 31, this reporter was on scene and witnessed first hand the mangled piles of overturned tankers, cars and scattered debris.

A huge black cloud of smoke that could be seen for miles had mushroomed into the sky from burning rail ties and grass exasperated by glycerine lube oil leaking from one of the tankers. At times it seemed as if the fire was raining down on the wreckage and surrounding woods.

MANGLED MESS -- The remains of the 28 tankers and cars are strewn along the train track in Chandler creating a mess for Union Pacific Railroad crews to clean up. By Monday evening, the dam- aged cars were moved to the side, and while the mainline experienced extensive damage, crews were able to repair the siding track normally used by parked trains.

Chandler Fire Department immediately responded to the mishap that occurred some time around 4:00 p.m. and assumed command of the situation, calling in HAZMAT teams from Athens and Tyler, and other agencies to assist.

Chandler police and fire units from Brownsboro, Westside, and Dixie, also responded.

Chandler Fire Chief Robert York boarded an EMS Air 1 helicopter to photograph the wreckage from above in order to better assess the situation

"We wanted to find out which cars were involved and what was exposed to the fire," York said. "The more information we got the better we felt. We found there was no bad stuff in the pile. When you pull up, your department's reaction has to be that it's the baddest thing. It's a chaotic mess at first."

Wanda Nichols Photo A SCENE FROM A 70'S DISASTER FLICK -- Tankers and cars ground up the track when a Union Pacific train derailed Sunday. After removing the damaged cars off the track Monday afternoon, Union Pacific crews brought in loads of gravel to rebuild the track.

As a precautionary measure all agencies involved got together and decided to evacuate everyone on the edge of the smoke, including Cade's Cove Campground, and those fishing on the lake.

"A lot of people were asking me why didn't the sirens go off and why didn't we evacuate Chandler," York said. "We would have had a bigger problem and would have taken more resources than we had. There was absolutely no reason to evacuate the city and cause a panic. With the prevailing winds the way they were there was no danger."

Union Pacific Information Officer Joe Arbona said all in all about 50 area residents were evacuated, however, by around 8:30 p.m. residents were allowed to return home.

"The residents in the area were very patient and we appreciate that," Arbona said. "We are just fortunate the guys did a great job responding to the incident and making sure people were safe."

The fire may have been caused by metal scraping metal in contact with brush alongside the railway, and the creosote treated ties, Arbona said.

Becky Tarver, of Lindale, was fishing just north of the trestle bridge with her fiance and another friend when the incident happened, and called a former employer who lives in Chandler, who in turn called the police and fire department, she said.

"I saw the whole thing from our boat," she said. "We were getting ready to go under the bridge to go home when it happened. The train slammed on its brakes and made a loud noise. A lot of big rocks were grinding under the train. It was so loud. I couldn't believe it."

Tarver said the threesome banked their boat and walked up to the wreckage to see if anyone was hurt, but could not find anyone.

"It was a mess," she said. "We saw three or four cars high stacked up. There was a grass fire next to it and we tried to stomp it out because a big tanker next to it had oil spilling from it."

After locating the conductor, who was not injured, Tarver said they were advised by a game warden to leave the river.

The train had been traveling from Shreveport to Houston and carried several types of material including lube oil, lumber, metal and fertilizer, and some were empty, Arbona said.

About 23,000 gallons of lube oil spilled from one of the tankers onto the ground and into the Neches River north of Lake Palestine, Arbona said. At this time, it is believed no oil flowed into the lake. While the wind blew the smoke southward Sunday, on Monday the wind shifted pushing the oil into a slough area enabling Union Pacific crews to remove the oil.

"Oil rises, so it stays on top of the water," Arbona said. "We were able to contain the oil with a boom which is a buoy system. Equipment was brought in to suck it up. We are asking folks to refrain from fishing in the area until we can test the water."

With extensive damage to the main line railroad track, Arbona said Union Pacific crews began repair on the siding track, used by parked trains. By Monday afternoon the track was open.

"A train brought in pieces of track and removed the broken stuff," he said. "We're hoping to haul off the derailed cars in a few days."

The cause of the derailment is still unknown.

"We still don't know what caused the derailment that occurred mid-section of the train," he said. "There are several things investigators can look at, the rail cars, the track image recorder, the event recorder or black box, how fast the train was going and how the brakes were applied. "

Arbona said the Federal Railroad Administration is overseeing the investigation.

Meanwhile, Chandler Police Chief Ron Reeves said environment experts are performing area soil and water tests.