Federal officials have decided not to investigate the December derailment of a holiday scenic rail excursion through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Warren Flatau, deputy director of public affairs of the Federal Railroad Administration, said the Dec. 21 derailment of Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s North Pole Adventure did not meet the agency’s criteria for a full federal investigation because it was “minor” in nature.
Toni Stutler of Akron takes a picture of the derailed California Zephyr Silver Solarium car in Peninsula on Dec. 22. Four cars from the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad derailed the previous night on the last run of the North Pole Adventure.
Three passenger railcars on the holiday excursion to the “North Pole” derailed in Peninsula around 8:45 p.m., leaving about 600 passengers and crew stranded.
There were no injuries in the mishap, but it took about five hours for buses to take the crew and passengers back to the rail station in Independence in Cuyahoga County where the excursion — the last of the railroad’s season — originated.
Cause of December derailment determined
Four Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad cars derailed Dec. 21 just north of Peninsula.
Flatau said the preliminary probe into the mishap found the train was traveling no more than 2 mph when the railcars derailed while on its way back to the station in Independence. All the cars remained in an upright position.
“Preliminary findings suggest that the east side of the rail may have spread and rolled,” federal authorities say. “This type of condition is akin to something known as wide gage, whereby there is too much distance between the rails at a given point. It is among the most common of track causes.”
Although there will not be a full federal investigation, Flatau said, this is a reportable incident and the scenic railroad will have until the end of January to submit its official report to the agency.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cause determined for Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad derailment
