Train Derails in Bartow County

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. - Crews worked into the night on Friday to clean up the mess left behind by a train derailment that happened in a Cartersville neighborhood.

A total of 18 cars in a 74-car CSX train derailed near Felton Drive and Tennessee Street around 11 a.m., sending agricultural grain spilling everywhere. Rail cars were piled on top of one another.

Amazingly, no one was hurt, and no property in the neighborhood was damaged, but it was a close call for many residents living nearby. The derailment happened just down the road from a daycare and elementary school, and 50 feet from some residents’ homes.

There’s no word yet on what caused the derailment. Investigators say they will have to wait until the mess is cleaned up to begin their investigation. A representative with CSX says the train originated in Flint, Michigan and was on its way to Comer, Georgia when the cars derailed.

Workers say they must get the 500 yards of damaged railroad tracks onto a crane so they can remove them. In the mean time, yellow tape has been put in place to keep neighbors back in case one of the derailed cars shifts.

Crews expect the cleanup to take about two days. They say the must move each car before they can replace the damaged rails.