Letter To The Editor: Train Fire Is Another CSX Disruption

The following is a letter to the editor. Letters can be submitted to Foxborough and Mansfield Patch Local Editor Dan Libon at Dan.Libon@patch.com.

As if CSX is looking for more ways to disrupt our lives besides idling, whistles and horns, they can now add railcar fires and derailments to their repertoire.

A 1:20 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, thick white smoke bellowed out of two railcars full of trash on the tracks behind our neighborhood. The locomotives moved toward the Spring Street intersection, crossed, then reversed direction and backed the burning trains toward the Mansfield yard.

The hot fire shot exploding debris into the air and bellowed smoke so thick we could not see and we gagged to breathe.

An hour passed and the fire departments got things under control and the box cars no longer flamed but just sat smoldering and smelling so the locomotives headed out toward Spring Street.

Needing an encore for the second act, two loaded trash-filled cars toppled and derailed just off of County Street on Belcher Court. One car listed at a 40 degree angle looking ready to tip. The angle was steep and we got a birds-eye view of all the garbage. The front wheels of the second car twisted the track rail and dug themselves deep into the ground.

We wondered what kind of vermin would escape from all that packed refuse to infest our neighborhood.

This event occurred a 2:20 p.m. A fire at 1:20 p.m., and a derailment at 2:20 p.m. No wonder all our officials love this train. Not only does it keep trailer trucks of the road, its disasters are also right on schedule.

As responsible citizens we expect our responsible leaders to curtail operations of this irresponsible freight line until there is a full investigation.

Donald DiMauro

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