Routine police routes by a patrolman of the Tyrone Police Department found a three foot section of track missing at the Tyrone-Palmetto Road railroad crossing at about noon on Tuesday, March 25, according to Lieutenant Philip Nelson, Public Information Officer with the Tyrone Police Department. He called it into his dispatch, who told CSX about it.
Four hours later, in spite of letting CSX know of the danger, a train derailed, taking six cars with it. Lt. Nelson said it could be as many as two weeks before the crossing is back up and running again, but CSX indicated a much shorter timeline.
Here’s the story in Lt. Nelson’s words. “While on routine patrol, they noticed there was a piece of the railroad section in the roadway by Tyrone Road and the railroad crossing and it appeared that it had been damaged by a low boy trailer. That’s what we assume. And it broke off about a three foot section of the railroad rail. So [the officer] shut down the road on both sides and he had our dispatch contact CSX. He told dispatch to let them know we need to stop all trains coming through here until they get somebody to come down and check it out. And then he contacted our public works and they came out and put some cones around the piece of metal.”
A source in Tyrone showed The Citizen a photo of the damaged track before the derailment occurred and it was an obvious problem, that looked like it had been caused by a low vehicle, like Nelson mentioned.
With cones around the piece of railway metal to prevent vehicle damage, the crossing remained open to through traffic, at that point. “ There was no danger to any vehicles going back and forth as far as what we were concerned,” said Lt. Nelson.
Once Lt. Nelson was notified of the train derailment at about 4 p.m., they made contact with CSX to confirm that the train contained no hazardous materials. And they also checked for injuries, and shut the roadway down, so that CSX could get in and begin repairs and removal of the derailed train.
CSX Spokesperson Austin Staton confirmed that they were warned four hours in advance. He shared, “Every day we work with law enforcement and emergency response personnel throughout our extensive network and have good communication with matters like this. Our team is conducting a thorough investigation of the incident to implement improved measures to ensure this does not happen again.”
He continued, “We’ve spoken with Mayor Dial, and we’re committed to working with the City of Tyrone as our investigation continues. We’re grateful for the first responders who quickly reported to the scene following the incident, and we’re thankful that there were no injuries.”
Staton said, “As of this morning, the track is open to freight rail. Our crews continue to work as safely and quickly as possible to complete the repair work on the crossing. In terms of a timeline, we’re currently targeting tomorrow evening.”
“We appreciate the public’s patience while we complete this work, which is critical to ensuring the safety of motorists using this crossing, and a safe, reliable freight rail network,” said Staton.
How common is a train derailment? Staton indicated that statistics said they happen across the country as often as three times a day, but that it includes incidences that happen within railway stations and depots that are more common.
It was nice to see the local protest today in Fayetteville at the Tesla dealership. Assuming that there is no violence or destruction of property, I’m glad that people have an peaceful outlet to call attention to actions of an unelected person who is running amok over federal agencies. And very alarming is that Musk has personal financial incentives to gain inside information and thwart competitors with his actions. There is a very good reason that the founders placed the emoluments prohibition into the Constitution. Even MAGA-ites should be concerned about the president and his acolytes using inside information to enrich themselves personally.
Nice to see that you and I can agree that protests can be conducted peacefully. I would ask, however, if you have any reason to believe that Musk or his crew are truly running amok through our federal departments. Also, maybe you have inside information regarding their financial gain. Just asking. Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Mr. King. For evidence, you may want to review U.S. District Court, District of Maryland, Case 8:25-cv-00462-TDC Document 73 Filed 03/18/25.
Thank all for your responses.
Mr. Musk has ongoing contracts with federal agencies through Space X and his other companies. He has obtained clearance to search the files of the DOD and other agencies that can affect him financially . Further, he has authority to diminish federal agencies that have oversight over companies that he controls. This is the very definition of the fox guarding the hen house.
The current president is the only chief executive in the modern era to refuse to place his assets into a blind trust to eliminate the temptation to make decisions for personal interests rather than the public good. The sheer number of foreign leaders who use the Trump hotel instead of other Washington accommodations is emblematic of his multiple conflicts of interests.
Doug, has your reference been adjudicated? We both know the answer in light of the spurious injunctions made by federal judges that, in my opinion, stand to be overturned on appeal. STF, you are indeed correct with Mr. Musk’s contracts, but do you have any specific instances of impropriety within the DOGE team? I will concede that you have me on the blind trust, but can we both agree that visiting Mara largo is a much better venue than Washington DC?
Have a grand weekend to you both.
No, Mike. The USAID case has yet to be adjudicated. However, the presented evidence is well documented. Case adjudication is not a prerequisite for acceptable evidence. For example, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Docket 9:23-cr-80101-AMC (aka unlawful removal and handling of classified documents) was not adjudicated, but the presented evidence is indisputably accepted.
STF – It’s simply LAUGHABLE that you want to insinuate Trump is enriching himself by being in public office. Do some research…..even hard left news outlets like Newsweek admit he’s the only president who has lost personal wealth while in office. Ironically – the two most recent to have gained the most wealth while in office are your shining jewells of “public service” – Biden and Obama. Truth – its not stranger than fiction, it’s just hard for you to grasp. If you still think that – well then you should go take your oil & gas advice from Hunter, and buy one of his works of art while you’re at it.
I’m very disappointed that CSX couldn’t manage to dispatch anyone FOUR hours of notice. We hear all the time that privatization can fix everything so what I find ironic here is the government (police officer) was telling a member of private enterprise (CSX) there’s a problem. Kind of reverses President Reagan’s quote, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” More like: “I’m here from private enterprise willing to over-promise and under-deliver because my shareholders are more important than the general public.” Do we need a regulation that effectively states “when notified of a credible problem a freight carrier must respond within an hour and/or stop their traffic”? Kind of stupid to regulate common sense but is this what we’ve gotten to? CSX’s incompetence was covered by our tax dollars and caused inconvenience to our residents.
People who turn any story into political rant are at best, fools and idiots
I am no railway expert, but why was 3 feet of track missing? I assume it was broke at the crossing, I just find it hard to fathom loosing a 1000 pound piece of steel.
Losing for all you spelling Natzis…
So was CSX using a DEI hire to answer warnings?
Phil – How discerning of you to surmise that any blunder must have been committed by a black person. It’s hard to slip any chance to denigrate a person of color past a MAGA-ite.
(You really can’t make this stuff up.)
I think the first commentor, like too many others, suffers from anthropophobia. It’s the only explanation I can find. Maybe as babies they were dropped on their heads. To be fair, we should include them in the definition “DEI.” No, that will show disregard for too many others who are actually banished from participating in America.
Doug – I wouldn’t assume that any incident like the train derailment was caused by a DEI hire. That said, DEI has been thoroughly discredited as a government-backed system of advantages for certain demographics and sexual preferences, along with the divisive corporate culture and the policing of speech and thought that DEI brings.
As someone who is concerned about illegality toward any group, I am troubled that there’s a serious wrong toward “too many others who are actually banished from participating in America”.
Who, specifically, are being banished from participating in America? Who, specifically, is doing this? And how do they get away with it year after year with no prosecution?
Wing. I was mocking Phil Sukalewski’s March 26, 2025 at 10:54 pm comment about DEI. In reality, I didn’t support Biden’s DEI policy. Specifically, I don’t think the Government should impose DEI on private parties, or publicly administered programs, to include Government hiring practices. With that said, I will add that I do believe we, as human beings, should include diverse ethnicities in our culture as much as we include those who have been here awhile, or even before us. I happen to be a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) and freely accepted and welcome by most people, here. That’s not necessarily the case with people of different ethnicities.
Who has been banished? Everyone ICE had picked up, detained, and/or deported. Some for good reasons, some, just because they happen to be different or make some people emotionally insecure. Not all deportees were illegally here or committed criminal offenses.
The Government’s activity is the low hanging fruit concerning DEI. I am as much concerned about how so many of us privately interact with others who are different, whether they are black, female, have special needs, physically disabled, non-English speakers, Muslim, gay, etc. Many of us privately banish them from our lives. I don’t like that, but sometimes I am guilty as well. I am homophobic as all heck. It’s wrong; I know. I pray about it, but it’s still what it is.
Wing. About my below comment. I don’t support Biden’s DEI for two specific reasons. First, it’s not technically needed. We have discrimination laws already on the books. Break the law and get prosecuted. Second, Biden’s DEI policy promoted one or more ethnicities over another.
Also, just because I am homophobic, I don’t want to persecute anyone for being gay. I would have just cut someone’s throat if they had approached one of my kids and promoted their lifestyle. I will now if they approach one of my grandkids doing the same.
Why do you assume he was talking about a black person? Maybe he was wondering if it was a woman?
Phil’s comment was moronic at best – but STF you show your true colors by immediately assuming a DEI hire was someone with a different skin tone than yours. Perhaps you’re the racist one to assume this immediately?
DEI is anyone who doesn’t deserve the job because they’re the most qualified, but gets the job anyway because they check a certain box – whether that’s religion, s*xual orientation, political affiliation, s*x, perceived disability, ethnic background, etc. An example of this would be Elizabeth Warren, who keeps getting re-elected to the Senate solely because of her Native American heritage.
Uncle Mike – earlier in the article they mention a Tyrone citizen showed a picture of the damaged section to The Citizen, looking as if it had been caused by a low vehicle. My suspicion is it was a low-boy trailer, which has a very low ground clearance and is commonly used to haul heavy equipment. These trailers cannot overcome moderate sudden changes in roadway slope and they “bottom out” easily, and very likely this grabbed a section of the rail and either dislodged it from the rail plate, bent it, or removed it completely. You see this type of error often, seemingly more and more since our truck drivers are not the professionals that they used to be, and are getting replaced by more and more inexperienced and in many cases foreigners who cannot read or speak English or our road signs. There’s no evidence a foreigner was driving here – but this has been a recent focus of the current Secretary of Transportation, who’s working actively with ICE to remove the CDL ability of foreigners who cannot understand our English language. In one recent article, the Nebraska State Police attributed 97% of at-fault accidents involving a Commercial Vehicle to foreign drivers.
Back to your point, STF – our previous inept Transportation Secretary “Mayor Pete” is yet another example of a DEI hire. He got that position solely because he “checked the box” for the left’s identity politics….so there’s another example of a DEI hire who isn’t necessarily black.
Don’t blame Phil for his “moronic at best” declaration. He was only copying the orange guy who gave the identical explanation for the plane crash at Reagan International in late January. Neither Phil or his intrepid leader gave any substantiation for the assertions of DEI causality. It is assumed that straight white guys can’t err, so it must have been “those people.”
Still doesn’t explain why your racism came out when you assumed that an unqualified individual must have been black……..or is that orange man’s fault too?
Do you even know what DEI is?