21 Train Cars Derail in Downtown Area, Smash Into Building and Vehicle
Another day, another train derailment.
This time, the incident occurred just before 3:00 p.m. in the small unincorporated town of Glendale, Kentucky, in Hardin County, about five miles south of Elizabethtown.
Kentucky State Police told WLKY that an 18-wheeler had stopped on the tracks, forcing the train’s conductor to brake hard.
WLKY wrote that “at least eight railcars” had come off the tracks; however, the station’s broadcast report put the number much higher, at 21. Aerial footage apparently taken by drone appeared to show eight derailed cars, as well as the semi truck stuck on the tracks.
The train appeared to have stopped about 70 yards before it would have hit the stopped truck.
Train derailment in Glendale, KY. View from WLKY CHOPPER HD. @WLKY pic.twitter.com/y1RTRcb5o8
— Scott Eckhardt (@S_EckhardtTV) March 16, 2023
The presence of a tow truck in front of the semi seemed to indicate that the 18-wheeler was stuck on the tracks, unable to move.
The derailed cars hit an antique store and a car. The car’s occupant suffered minor injuries, police said, but no specifics were reported.
According to the Hardin County Sheriff, the train was carrying new automobiles. No hazardous materials were reported to be on the train.
“No hazardous materials,” Hardin County Emergency Director Joey Scott told WLKY.
“Please understand, there is no safety concern regarding hazardous material,” he said.
“One of the derailed cars collided with an occupied vehicle near the crossing. It has been reported that the occupants have non-life threatening injuries,” CSX Transportation officials said. “There are no reported injuries to the crew of the train, and no hazardous materials are involved.”
CSX said that crews were “working closely with local emergency responders” to address the derailment and that Glendale’s two train stops were expected to be shut down for an unspecified “extended period of time.”
Train derailment in Glendale KY. View from WLKY CHOPPER HD. @WLKY pic.twitter.com/F6Xe35YdDY
— Scott Eckhardt (@S_EckhardtTV) March 16, 2023
Somewhat ironically, Glendale was actually named for the hometown of a railway engineer on the L&N line when a new station was located there just before the Civil War, according to Kentucky Place Names.
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