Home News Tribune Online 02/14/07
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
SOUTH PLAINFIELD - A freight train veered onto the wrong tracks Wednesday evening, striking a piece of equipment and coming to a stop inside the building of a paint manufacturer.
According to John Enright, a spokesman with Conrail, the train was traveling southeast on its way to Woodbridge at about 7:30 p.m. when an open rail switch sent it onto a side track.
The train, which was carrying more than 70 cars of ethanol, then struck a piece of rail equipment on the track and entered the building of Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc.
Enright said two locomotives, a buffer car and two of the tanker cars followed the rails into the building. At no time did the train derail, he said, and none of the tanker cars spilled open.
No injuries were reported and no evacuations were necessary, Enright said.
Enright said Conrail officials were still investigating why the switch was open. He said it was unclear if the error was human or if it was related to the weather or the movement of the train.
The area of the derailment sits right off Interstate 287, near Talmadge Road, in the southern part of the borough.
The Web site for Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc. describes the company as a manufacturer of colors, minerals and pigments for paint.