EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Walking along the railroad tracks near East Clark Street in this Columbiana County village, it is hard to imagine the destruction that happened here three years ago. For people who didn’t call this village home, the long, short whistle sounds of an oncoming train in the distance might sound nostalgic. It’s that way in many cities and towns across the country where the roads cross the tracks.The main rail line here runs parallel to East Taggert Street, one of the primary routes through the center of the village, and intersects with North Pleasant Drive and South Market Street.
In February of 2023, that nostalgia turned into terror when a loud and fiery derailment turned life here upside down. A Norfolk Southern train came roaring through the town of Salem, more than 20 miles away. Undetected until much later, a video showed the wheels of the 23rd car in the train burning orange and heading straight for this town.
Later, after multiple investigations, a report would show that an overheated wheel bearing caused the fire.
Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
By 9:00 p.m., life there had changed when 38 of the twin cars derailed, causing flames to shoot up into the sky. Sirens from volunteer fire companies wailed in all directions as a plume of smoke rose straight up in the sky.
