Polar Express Stops Service Friday After Derailment
By: Elsa Gillis
Updated: December 9, 2011
What was supposed to be a joyous train ride to the North Pole last night, went south pretty quickly. Luckily no one was injured, but the investigation into what happened last night is ongoing, and Friday service has been canceled. Conductor of the train Al Heywood tells Eyewitness News a few minutes into the trip last night an engineer felt as if the train was dragging. After stopping the train to check everything out, they discovered that three train cars had jumped the tracks.
Those three cars were still at the scene of the derailment Friday morning, with people working all around. At this point, the derailed cars have been returned to union station. "The three cars have been put back on the rails and moved out of the way and the Federal Railway Administration and state DOT are out at the sight taking measurements and examining it to determine exactly what the cause was," said Heywood.
He says the trains and tracks are checked regularly. As of now they've yet to figure out exactly what caused the problem. Heywood said track repairs were set to begin this afternoon so that service can resume Saturday. The first train is set to leave at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.
If you were scheduled to ride Friday, and have yet to be contacted by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, you can call them for more information. They have added two extra trains to the end of the season to ensure that everyone is able to ride the polar express.
Heywood says they've been running the train for about ten years and this is the first incident they've had.
He wants to assure everyone that the train will not leave the station without the train and track being in perfect condition and perfectly safe.
