Feds: Signal confusion before derailment

In the meantime, several hundred residents of a 12-square-block section of the waterfront refinery town were not allowed to return to their homes Saturday after being evacuated Friday night because of concerns about leaking vinyl chloride from a tanker that derailed.

Releasing the first details of the investigation into the wreck, National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Deborah Hersman said the engineer and conductor in the CSX engine at the head of the train did not encounter a normal situation when they arrived at the swing bridge across the Mantua Creek before 7 a.m. Friday.

The bridge, owned and maintained by Conrail, was closed but the signal was red, indicating the bridge was open.

"They expected to see it open," Hersman said, adding that the bridge is supposed to be closed when trains are crossing the creek.

Under standard practice, the crew would punch in a radio code to close the bridge and get a green signal, Hersman said.

With the bridge already closed, the conductor got out and inspected the tracks on foot.

The conductor "told the locomotive engineer everything looked good," she said, adding that the crew then punched in the code three times in a failed attempt to get a green signal.

The crew then radioed the dispatcher at the Conrail control center at the Pavonia Yards in Camden and obtained permission to operate against the signal.

Monitoring equipment showed the train crossed the bridge at 8 m.p.h., two miles below the posted speed limit.

The first cars had crossed the bridge when the crew "saw the bridge collapse" and the emergency brakes went on, Hersman said.

She said she did not know whether that procedure had been followed in the past, a question that is part of the investigation.

The bridge was the site of a less serious derailment involving a coal car in 2009 and was rebuilt in part after that.

Inspections of freight rail bridges are left to the bridge owners. Inspections are required at least once a year, but the results are not made public.

Hersman said the NTSB had requested the records of all inspections dating back to before the 2009 incident.

She also raised the possibility that the bridge, which is only a few feet above the creek, might have been damaged by flooding related to Hurricane Sandy.

Cars six through 12, including three tankers carrying vinyl chloride, derailed about 7 a.m. Friday. The insulated cladding of one tanker broke open, spewing toxic fumes but not causing serious injuries.

Cleanup is progressing slowly because crews need to remove vinyl chloride still trapped in the damaged tanker before any other work - including the on-site crash investigation - can begin.

Coast Guard Capt. Kathy Moore, whose agency is leading the unified incident command, said officials hoped to start removing the remaining chemical Saturday. There was no immediate word whether that work had begun.

Removing two tank cars containing vinyl chloride from the creek also will be risky.

Moore said there was no indication those cars had been damaged but added, "There's a lot we don't know from what we don't see."

The cleanup is expected to last several days and the incident commanders were awaiting the arrival of large crane on a barge from New York Harbor.

Moore said that vinyl chloride fumes from the damaged car remained within acceptable levels but that officials decided to continue the evacuation as a precaution.

The exact number of people who had to leave their homes was not known - one estimate was 500 - but Conrail said it provided 106 hotel rooms Friday night.

Among those staying at a hotel was Diamond Veney, 19, and her year-old son, Tamir.

She said that she was grateful to have her son in a safe place but that the evacuation order seemed "last minute."

"It should have been done earlier," said Veney, who packed enough clothing and diapers for three days, as instructed.

Yasmeen Stafford, 19, also was thankful to have a haven for herself and her 6-month-old twins, Yameen and Yusef.

"I was shocked and scared about the whole situation, with the babies and all," she said. "It was the first time I had to deal with something like this."

Conrail has set up an assistance center at the Paulsboro Fire Department, 1502 Swedesboro Ave. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents can also call a toll-free number, 1-800-230-7049.

at 856-779-3844 or jgambardello@phillynews.com.