Lufkin police sergeant Dale Jowell said that 64 empty train cars blew over on Sunday morning, adding that it will take at least 48 hours before the roadway is cleared.
These cars were idle and waiting for service and apparently the winds were strong enough this morning to blow them completely off their wheels,” said David Perkins, president of A&NR Railroad Company.
Severe “straight-line winds” in excess of 41 mph blew several train cars in eastern Texas off a railroad bridge and onto a roadway about 20 feet below Sunday morning, according to a Facebook posting from the Lufkin Police Department.
“Removing the railcars in the safest way possible will require certain things to happen,” said Rhonda Oaks, public information officer for the Lufkin District. “Our officials have devised a traffic control plan for motorists until the cars can be removed, and we are hoping that will be by Monday evening. We are waiting on equipment that is being sent from Houston before the cleanup can begin.”
Lufkin Police Department.
