New Castle derailment stalls traffic in Lowellville

9 Norfolk Southern cars run off tracks in New Castle, Pa.

LOWELLVILLE -- Clearing of tracks in Lowellville took most of Thursday morning after a train derailment in New Castle, Pa., blocked rails, bringing train and automotive traffic to a standstill in the village.

Lowellville is along the Mahoning River near the Pennsylvania state line.

After being impassable all morning, vehicle traffic began moving about 10:20 a.m. over crossings that are situated just south of the village bridge over the Mahoning River. The bridge is being sandblasted and painted by work crews.

Because of that project, the bridge traffic was reduced to one lane. The New Castle derailment, which occurred about 10 miles east of Lowellville, caused the village bridge to be closed for about 10 hours Thursday morning.

One of the work crew, who identified himself as Campbell City Council President George Levendis, said Lowellville school buses couldn't cross the bridge to deliver students to the K-12 building on the north side of the river.

A statement from Norfolk Southern spokesman Connor Spielmaker described the situation: "At 11:57 p.m. Wednesday evening, nine cars derailed outside of New Castle, Pa. There were no hazardous materials involved, and no injuries have been reported. Our crews responded immediately and are actively working at the site."

New Castle Fire Department officials on the scene told the Associated Press that one railcar was carrying soybeans while some of the nine railcars involved contained paraffin wax, which is used to make candles.

The derailment took place on a bridge over the Mahoning River near Montgomery Avenue and Lafayette Street, but there was no indication any hazardous material went into the waterway.

Reports also stated the train that was blocking the Lowellville crossing had to be separated manually with an engine coming in from the west. That engine had to be attached and pulled the stopped cars westbound, away from the direction of New Castle, where the derailment had blocked traffic in several small towns.

By 11 a.m., the track was clear at crossings as far east as Edinburg, Pa., in western Lawrence County. Police in Struthers reported that the crossings at Bridge Street were not blocked at all by any stopped train on Thursday morning.

Lowellville Village Administrator Rich Day said Lowellville traffic couldn't access U.S. Route 224 for the morning rush, but by noon, traffic was back to normal and the tarps were being taken off the newly painted bridge.

"It has a nice blue color," said Day, who noted that Lowellville students blocked by the stopped train were able to make it to school Thursday morning by detouring through Struthers.

The latest derailment comes 97 days after a fiery derailment of Norfolk Southern railcars in East Palestine. The accident caused hazardous material to spill into waterways with toxic fumes spewing into the air. Half of the eastern Ohio town's 5,000 residents were evacuated as emergency responders later burned off chemicals to prevent an uncontrolled explosion.

The company has renewed a promise to create a fund for East Palestine residents near the site of that wreck to cover any decline in home values since the derailment, while U.S. Congress is debating measures to increase safety along railroads.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.