Dade County train derailment

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It was business as usual at the Dade County Animal Hospital in Trenton, Ga., on Monday, even though a massive train derailment was being cleaned up across the road.

Everyone in and around the Wildwood community was talking about the 19-car derailment of the Norfolk Southern train and how it could've happened, said Nick Weldon, head veterinarian at the clinic nearby.

"It's a straight-line track," said Weldon, whose clinic is located on U.S. 11 a few hundred yards south of the derailment.

In photos, the scene looks like piled dominoes.

Two of the rail cars were carrying paper products, while the others were empty, Susan Terpay, director of public relations at Norfolk Southern Corp., said Monday. No injuries were reported, and the cause is under investigation, she said.

She would not release the names of the engineer or conductor on the train.

Northbound U.S. 11 was shut down Monday between Morganville Loop to North Dade School after the derailment occurred Sunday at 7:45 p.m. One of the rail cars landed on U.S. 11, which runs alongside the railroad tracks, officials said.

Police swarmed the area, Weldon said, and crime scene tape sectioned off the rail cars.

He said he had never known of another train coming off the tracks at that spot.

Contact staff writer Joan Garrett at jgarrett@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6601. Follow her on Twitter at @JoanGarrettCTFP.