12/27/13 Train derailment in Vivian, WV, and repair

On Dec. 27, 2013, a Norfolk Southern train with five locomotives and 111 cars derailed near the Elkhorn Inn in Vivian, WV. It was headed from Bellevue, Ohio to Linwood, North Carolina;12 of the derailed cars were takers containing asphalt tar, two carried soybean oil, one grain, and one railroad cross ties. One of asphalt tar takers ruptured, and spilled liquid tar into Elkhorn Creek. which solidified when it cooled in the creek, and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection personnel and Norfolk Southern Railway environmental people were called to the scene, as well as Kimball Fire Department personnel. Jimmy Gianato, Director of West Virginia Emergency Management, as well as Chief of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department, was also called to the scene. About 700 feet of track was damaged in the derailment, and Norfolk Southern stopped all train traffic on the line until the next day; crews worked through the night to restore service on this very busy line.
The derailment occurred a few hundred yards west of the Landgraff grade crossing. After the derailment a locomotive and several cars were moved east of the site. As a result of the derailment, the back of the train blocked the Vivian Bottom grade crossing for several hours until another unit was brought in to make a break in the train at the grade crossing so residents of Vivian could access their homes.
Dan took our new camera (yes- we Finally got a DSLR to take good train photos for our railfan guests!), and took the photos below, one of which was used by the Register-Herald newspaper as their photograph for the story: http://www.register-herald.com/local/x1186898232/Train-derails-in-McDowell-County

The good news: There were no injuries, no evacuations were needed or ordered, and containment booms were set in place in the creek almost imediately to prevent the asphalt tar from migrating down Elkhorn Creek; as a result, no ecologial damage was apparently done. This is very important to our area, as Elkhorn Creek has been called “the best wild trout stream in the USA”, and is home to a pleathora of 24″-32″ brown and rainbow trout, which bring Trout Unlimited members and fly-fishing guests here from across the nation.
On December 28, as Dan took the repair photos, he saw several out-of-state fly fishermen fishing in Elkhorn Creek in Landgraff, near the Elkhorn Inn. 🙂

The first 13 photos below were taken by Dan shortly after the derailment occurred:

Workers on the scene

Dan took the photos below the next day, Dec. 28, 2013, during the repair operation, and as Norfolk Southern got the trains running again. The follow-up article in the Register-Herald:
http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x1186899194/Resident-living-near-tracks-recounts-Friday-s-derailment