A Norfolk-Southern Railroad train which derailed and burned in East Palestine, OH, was shown to have one car with axles on fire at least 40 minutes BEFORE the train derailed.
Video obtained by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette newspaper, shown below, vividly shows the axles of one train car actively on fire. According to the newspaper, the location of this train relative to the derailment, proves the car was on fire a full 40 minutes before the train derailed and burned.
According to the newspaper, tracks have devices called "hot boxes" which monitor the temperature of wheels and/or train car axles, and alert the railroad if a car is overheating . . . . to avoid exactly this type of later derailment. If such an alert was generated, the train crew would have been required to halt the train immediately.
The video below begins showing the flaming axles at about 20 seconds:
Video from @PittsburghPG shows CCTV footage of one of the cars on fire miles before the derailment.
— CannCon (@CannConActual) February 14, 2023
When was the crew alerted from the hot-box detectors that there was a major issue with one of the cars? It seems they began to break after the E Palestine hot-box, but possibly… https://t.co/UOfugBuJux pic.twitter.com/889tNf8k8F
After the primary fire from the derailment was put out, officials reportedly determined that a "controlled-burn" of other cars, carrying the chemical "vinyl-chloride" was the safest way to prevent an uncontrolled release of such chemicals or uncontrolled explosion. So officials reportedly engaged in a controlled burn.
The problem is that when vinyl chloride burns, it gives off other, deadly, chemicals; primarily hydrogen chloride and . . . phosgene gas.
If that last chemical name rings a bell, it should. Phosgene gas is a chemical weapon used in World War one, choking troops to death on battlefields in Europe.
Now, people living in and around East Palestine, OH are reporting severe respiratory troubles. Fish in nearby creeks and rivers are floating dead in the water. Farms with chickens are reporting all the chickens dead. Car owners are seeing chemical etching of their car paint and windows when they drive through rain or puddles from rain, in the area.
People are now talking openly that East Palestine may have to be permanently evacuated. They are also using the term "Chernobyl" to describe the exclusion zone that may have to be created.
Worse, the creeks and rivers flow into other, larger, rivers, and ultimately, to the Mississippi River.
If those local waters are so polluted that the fish are dying, what will that do to fish in the larger rivers.
Moreover, drinking water comes from those rivers for millions of people downstream.
This could be the biggest environmental disaster in US History . . . and it could have all been avoided if the train was stopped because a car axle was on fire.
I'm not a licensed financial expert or stock broker, so I cannot give financial advice. But if I owned stock in the Norfolk Southern Railroad, I'd sell it immediately given the likely cost exposure of this company, to potential civil liability. Of course, you should talk to a licensed financial professional before making any investment/divestment or money decisions.
