BUCKSPORT, Maine — Railway crews were still on the scene Saturday of a trail derailment in Bucksport that tore up roughly 200 feet of track and sent two tanker cars into the Penobscot River.
The 4-car derailment happened Friday evening around 7 p.m. on a stretch of Pan Am Railways tracks that hugs the Penobscot River near the Bucksport-Orrington town line. The 31-car train was headed to the Verso Paper mill in Bucksport with a delivery at the time.
The two cars that ended up partially in the river were carrying liquid latex. Initial reports had suggested that none of the latex had leaked out, but a Pan Am Railways spokeswoman said Saturday afternoon that there was some spillage.
Cynthia Scarano, executive vice president at Massachusetts-based Pan Am Railways, said the latex is nonhazardous and has a neutral pH. The extent of the leak won’t be clear until the tanks have been emptied, she said.
On Saturday afternoon, about a dozen railroad crews could be seen from a nearby property working to repair the roughly 200-foot stretch of track that was damaged during the derailment. Once the track is repaired, Pan Am will transfer the contents of the derailed cars cars into empty cars before bringing in a crane to remove the cars.
Scarano said they are still investigating the cause of the derailment but the company hopes to reopen that stretch of tracks soon.
“Right now it is shut down,” she said. “We are hoping by the end of today or early tomorrow to have the track back in service.”
Why bother? They are just going to derail again. The days of Railroads in Maine are long gone. They are now Snowmobile and ATV trails. Places to jog.
Oh, you’re wrong! Just ask us taxpayers who now own the track north of Bangor.
Yesiree, how many millions was it we spent (wasted) on that track? How many millions more to repair it? But Aroostook now thrives because of it. *cough*
A prime example of why we need better highways.
Classic Pan Am lack of maintenance. Pan Am has multiple derailments each week all over the system due to thier inability to care for their most important asset, the rail bed. It is time to kick Pan Am out as an operator and figure out a better way to improve and preserve this extremely important asset.
kind of. that spot is where the water went from the beaver dam let go last month. completely washed out the rail ties and stone bed. the rails were suspended in mid air, but were “repaired” the next day.
You are very very wrong. This spot is miles downriver from the beaver dam washout.
George Costanza, latex salesman at Vandalay Industries, expressed his concern over the spilled liquid latex, “I’m just concerned that there is never a marine biologist around when you need one. We don’t know the long term effects. These pretzels are making me thirsty!”
it’s true, this railroad does not take care of it’s assets….. THEY JUST DON”T CARE!….. take a good look around the area where the railroad is within view…..