Retrospect: Train derailed south of Portland

A train derailed five miles outside of Portland 50 years ago this week, sending 28 cars off the tracks. 

A Pennsylvania Railroad freight, traveling from Richmond to Fort Wayne, derailed at 12:40 a.m. Jan. 16, 1968, about five miles south of Portland. 

The train’s crew was uninjured. 

Originally, the cause of the 109-car freight’s derailment was unknown. It was later attributed to either a high rate of speed by the train or a broken rail. 

Twenty-eight cars crashed off the track, with half of them remaining upright. However, the other 14 were piled together, with many deemed total losses. Most of the crushed cars were coal hoppers, and coal was strewn on the ground. Because it was mixed with dirt, the coal was unsalvageable. 

A work crew arrived on the scene before 2 a.m. Jan. 16 to begin repairing the estimated 1,000 feet of track that was damaged in the accident. It took about 30 hours of work before the track was opened again. 

Service was restored Jan. 17, but trains were ordered to operate at low speeds.

Twelve cars remained on the side of the track and would be cleared away on a later date. 

There were no witnesses to the accident, but nearby farmer Bill Hole said he heard it from his home. 

“I didn’t hear any crash but there was an awful clatter when the cars went over the ties,” Hole told The Commercial Review.