• PICTURES: Aerial Photos Of Crashed Train
• PICTURES: Toppled Cars, Scene, Police

Residents on East Derry Road within a one-block radius of the train were evacuated after eight railcars jumped the track near Hersheypark. Three of the derailed cars are carrying hazardous materials; two cars are filled with potassium hydroxide, an additive in alkaline batteries, the other car contains chlorine. Two other cars contain carbon dioxide. News 8 spoke to a Franklin & Marshall chemistry professor about the chemicals, their properties and potential effects. If you'd like to read what he had to say click here.

None of the chemicals leaked, Derry Township Police said.

• VIDEO: RAW Helicopter Video: Crashed Train Aerials
• VIDEO: News 8 -- Noon Report
• VIDEO: Police Press Conference

"We have mobile monitors in vehicles going around, as well as stationary monitors, checking the air at all times. There has been no problem," said Derry Township Police Chief Bill Smith.

However, Smith did point out that there is potential danger, given the chemicals contained in the cars.

"(If) chlorine leaks. It gets into the air. It can be lethal," he said.

Trinidad Avenue, Mansion and East Derry Roads are closed in the area. For real-time traffic updates on this situation, as well as others in the Susquehanna Valley, visit our Traffax traffic section.

• VIDEO: Derailment Traffic Update -- Detours, Hersheypark Access

Norfolk-Southern officials said the derailment has backed up trains on the main freight line. One track has reopened and some freight trains are once again traveling through Hershey.

Crews are working to fix the damaged rail line. They will then put the derailed cars back on the line and move them out. Crews plan to deal with the chlorine last because it is the most dangerous, police said.

Work is moving slowly today because crews have to continually stop to allow other freight trains to pass through.

Chief Smith said the earliest time that the evacuated residents might be able return to their homes would be Friday evening.

"I am in shock. I have animals and everything in my home. I don't know what's going on. My air conditioner is running, my downstairs windows are open. I don't know what's going on with my pets," said resident Sonya Hoffner.

"I was trying to come through and they wouldn't let me in," said resident Tony Gish.

Three businesses near the tracks were also evacuated.

Closures, Mail Delivery Problems

Derry Presbyterian, Hershey Trust Company, and Zoo America are closed.

Parts of Hershey Country Club West are closed, but the swimming pool, the east course, the clubhouse and the tennis courts are still open.

The derailment has not affected the Hershey Chocolate Factory or Hersheypark.

The evacuation around the derailment is also affecting mail delivery in parts of the Hershey area.

Mail can picked up at the Hershey Post Office at 50 N. Linden Road until the evacuation order is lifted.

`Trip switch' likely prevented serious damage in Chicago train fire

By Virginia Groark and Tonya Maxwell

Chicago Tribune

(MCT)

A lucky electrical-switch malfunction on the last car of a derailed Blue Line train likely prevented more serious damage during Tuesday's rush hour, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

The last car of an eight-car O'Hare bound train derailed shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, sparking a fire in the subway tunnel just west of the Clark/Lake stop and past the Chicago River.

Investigators had not yet determined what caused the fire, but they said they think a train trip switch, located at the back of each railcar, likely opened during the accident, said Kitty Higgins, a member of the NTSB. The switch is designed to work in conjunction with the signal system and activates the brakes if, for example, a train operator doesn't heed a red light, they said.

"We believe the derailment essentially tripped the train trip switch. When the car went off the tracks, it hit the ground, the ties, the concrete, something with enough force that it opened this up," Higgins said, holding the small device.

When the trip switch opened, the electrical current was interrupted and an emergency brake system was automatically triggered, she said.

Higgins said the trip switch is not designed to open in a derailment, and the NTSB's investigator-in-charge, Mike Flanigon, said he's never seen a trip switch open in a derailment in his 20-plus years of experience.

It was fortunate that the trip switch opened, they added.

"Its very well could have been a worse accident had that not happened," Flanigon said. "If the train doesn't stop and the rear car is not on the track and there are seven cars that are on the track with the motors pulling them along, (that could create) more damage and possibly derail the other cars."

NTSB officials on Thursday said investigators had not determined what caused the train to derail, but they did study the mechanics of the train cars and were satisfied that they functioned properly.

Higgins said the NTSB fire investigator was expected to arrive late Thursday, and she hoped she could determine what sparked the blaze and black smoke that billowed through the tunnel.

No one was killed in the incident, but more than 150 people were taken to area hospitals and treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries. As of Thursday, at least eight people remained hospitalized, one in critical condition, according to hospital officials.

Hundreds of commuters emerged from emergency exits after the 5:07 p.m. accident covered in soot. Many later complained they couldn't see more than five or 10 feet ahead of them as they navigated a narrow catwalk to an emergency exit and never heard instructions about where to go, although the train is equipped with a public address system.

On Thursday, Higgins said that system was working, although the train's motorman never used it.

She explained a sequence of events that happened in rapid succession:

NTSB officials believe the train derailed and a blue light lit up in the cab, indicating a problem. About the same time, the train stopped, she said, and the unidentified motorman realized he had an emergency.

The motorman walked through the first car and stepped onto the tunnel's catwalk to inspect the train, she said.

"His job is go out and walk the length of the train to determine what's going on," Higgins said. "What he realized when he got out there (was) passengers are coming toward him. Then he realized it was his job to get everyone out of there."

Passengers in the first car had to navigate 374 feet of darkened walkway - more than the length of a football field - before they found the emergency exit, Higgins said. People in the last car walked 732 feet, she said.

The train operator stayed on the catwalk helping passengers until the last one left, she said.

Higgins said the emergency lights were working property and the train controller requested the ventilation system, which potentially could have cleared smoke, be activated. Higgins did not know if that system was working properly.

She added officials will be interviewing a track inspector Friday in addition to examining possible causes of the fire.

The CTA has turned over its track and train car maintenance records to federal investigators. The NTSB also is reviewing the work history of the motorman, who had been on the job since March 2005. The motorman was on his first run of the day. It was his second day working solo on the Blue Line. Previously, he had worked on the Orange and Green Lines, both of which are elevated routes.

As a combined rail operator, the motorman had to undergo 32 days of general training and then additional rail line-specific training, CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. She did not know how long the training is for each of the agency's rail routes.

Within 24 hours of the derailment, three passengers had filed lawsuits. Each are legal assistants of the law firm Corboy & Demetrio, which is representing them.

Kotin said the fact that his clients work for the firm created no conflict of interest, because the firm would not assign them any work duties related to the Blue Line suit.

"I guess it would make sense that they chose to come to the firm they work for," said Dan Kotin, they're attorney. "There's no conflict there."