The suspected cause of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad derailment late last month has been determined, but federal administrators say the incident is too minor to warrant a full investigation.
It appears the derailment is the result of something referred to as wide gage. The east side of the rail spread and rolled creating too wide a distance between them for the wheels of a train, according to a statement from Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Director of Public Affairs Warren Flatau.
The derailment doesn’t meet criteria for an investigation, Flatau said. The train was travelling less than two miles per hour at the time of derailment. While three cars derailed, they remained upright, and none of the 588 passengers or crew members were injured.
The train derailed at approximately 8:45 p.m. while heading south toward Peninsula during the final run of CVSR’s annual North Pole Adventure train ride.
All passengers were shuttled by bus back to their vehicles, parked at the Rockside Station in Independence by 1 a.m. Sunday, according to an emailed statement from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
The train was operating on a siding track that runs parallel to the main track at the time of the derailment. CVSR had been operating on the siding in Peninsula during an ongoing riverbank stabilization project, according to the statement, and the track was cleared for use following an inspection the week before the derailment.
Cranes were used to place the derailed cars back on the track, according to CVNP's statement, and all the cars were returned to the railroad's maintenance yard by Sunday evening.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is on a winter break through January. The railroad will still be required to submit a full incident report by the end of the month.
