LOCAL : Vandal Believed Responsible for Derailment in Westminster

A vandal who flipped a switch on a train track apparently caused two locomotives and two boxcars carrying thousands of rounds of artillery shells to derail Tuesday night in Westminster, railroad officials said this morning.

The Southern Pacific train, called the Huntington Beach Switcher, was at the crossing at Hoover Street about two miles from Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, heading toward Anaheim, when the locomotives and cars slipped off the track.

“All the cars were upright, although some were leaning. None of the ammunition was damaged in any way,” said Southern Pacific spokesman Jim Loveland. “There were no detonators aboard, so there was no real risk of explosion. No railroad carries live stuff.”

Westminster officials were close to evacuating about 1,000 people in the area, including a nearby hospital and several retirement homes, after the 6:35 p.m. accident. But they decided against the precaution when naval ordnance experts determined the cargo was undamaged.

Aboard the two derailed cars were 2-foot long, 5-inch diameter, 38-caliber shells, which are shot from guns aboard battleships.

Early this morning, the two stranded but undamaged boxcars were towed back to the Seal Beach station, where the ammunition was to be stored until it can be shipped out again.

By dawn today, about 15 green-helmeted Southern Pacific workers were repairing 300 feet of twisted rails and torn railway ties at Westminster Boulevard and Hoover Street. Using a crane-like device, they hoisted the damaged rail and pulled broken ties from underneath.

Southern Pacific road master Larry Magathan, who was supervising the repairs, said new rails and ties were on the way. He predicted that the rails would be repaired by Friday.

“Right now, we think it is vandalism,” said Bill Currier, a superintendent with Southern Pacific. “We think they tampered with a switch.”