Cars Carrying Toxic, Flammable Liquids Derail

About half a dozen cars of a freight train, some containing toxic and flammable liquids, derailed Sunday morning and toppled onto parked railway cars, but there were no injuries or explosions, police said.

“We do consider it a close call because there are residences along those tracks,” said Fullerton Police Sgt. Hal Stevens. “It could have been a big problem for us.”

A westbound Santa Fe Railway freight train from Barstow was moving very slowly about 7 a.m. when at least seven cars toppled off the track, said Santa Fe spokesman Mike Martin.

The derailed box and tanker cars fell onto other rail cars parked on an adjacent track, ending up at a 45-degree angle, Stevens said.

The Los Angeles-bound train, with six locomotives and 69 cars, had slowed to drop off cars in Fullerton, Martin said. The cause of the accident had not been established.

Two derailed cars contained flammable liquefied gases such as butane or propane, Martin said, and one marked “poisonous liquid” contained nitrocholorbenzene. A railway hazardous materials squad determined that none of those cars was leaking, he said.