A man crosses the tracks in front of a stopped CSX freight train after some of the cars jumped the tracks near Poplar Street in Augusta. A sudden stop triggered the derailment of flatbeds. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Train derails in Augusta

Mike Stewart, of Augusta, said he'd never seen a train derailment, but he got the chance Saturday afternoon when 15 flatbed cars came off the tracks not far from where he was walking on Poplar Street.

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"The train stopped, and when it pulled off, all that stuff flipped over," he said standing in the yard of a Holly Street home. "I got scared; I was about to run."

The derailment occurred at about 4 p.m. when the CSX-owned train traveling parallel to Poplar Street suddenly stopped to avoid hitting a person on the tracks, said company spokesman Dan Murphy, in Jacksonville, Fla.

"Apparently, there was a kid with a boom box (and) earphones on who couldn't hear the train, so it (the train) had to apply its emergency brakes, and that's what derailed it," he said.

Mr. Murphy said there were no reported injuries or hazardous materials to clean up. Although 15 cars derailed, he classified it as a minor problem because no one had been hurt.

Richmond County Sheriff's deputies and Augusta-Richmond County firefighters lined up on Poplar Street between Linden and Holly streets. Police diverted traffic at the intersection with Holly Street.

Neighbors looked on as CSX workers surveyed the damage along the tracks in front of their homes.

CSX personell gather at the scene after a CSX freight train jumped the tracks near Poplar Street in Augusta. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

The locomotive - classified as an intermodal train - was carrying merchandise, including electronics and clothing, from Jacksonville, Fla., to Memphis, Tenn., Mr. Murphy said. Intermodal trains are used for long-distance hauls of high-quality property, he said.

Officials said they did not know how long the cleanup would take.

Reach Albert Ross Jr. at (706) 823-3339 or albert.ross@ augustachronicle.com.

--From the Sunday, June 22, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle