Derailment Clogs Busy Boulevard : Wreck: Cleanup begins after Sunday night accident that spilled 10 train cars onto a street in City of Industry. No injuries are reported.

Along a strip of Valley Boulevard in the City of Industry, an army of cranes, bulldozers and workers Monday tried to clear away thousands of tons of twisted steel left after 10 cars of a 31-car Southern Pacific train derailed Sunday night.

The cause of the derailment remained under investigation. No injuries were reported. Officials and onlookers expressed relief that the massive wreck seemed to cause only traffic gridlock.

One block of the busy thoroughfare, between 2nd and Puente avenues, was closed while more than 175 workers tried to clear the debris, tying up rush-hour traffic and forcing buses to be rerouted.

A spokesman for Southern Pacific said Valley Boulevard should be cleared by this afternoon.

Though eight barrels of acid were on-board the freight train, health officials said there seemed to be no health risk and no hazardous spills. But they kept their eyes on the cloudy skies because four barrels contained powder that becomes corrosive when mixed with water.

Nearby residents, watching workers lift pieces of the mile-long train, said things could have been much worse.

“I heard a lot of screeching, a long, forever sound,” said Rey Gomez, who lives in the Industry Inn, a residential hotel across from where the train jumped the tracks. “I remember thinking if this is a train, I hope it’s not going to hit this hotel.”

The cars derailed about 9:15 p.m. The train was hauling 30 tons of freight from Memphis, Tenn., to Long Beach. Michael Irvine, a superintendent at Southern Pacific Lines, said its two crew members--the engineer and conductor--were in the locomotive. He said there was no indication that the derailment was caused by human error, and he doubted that the train had a problem because it had been previously inspected. The railroad will turn over its inspection report to federal transportation safety officials.

Elma Rangel was at the stoplight at Valley Boulevard and Puente Avenue on Sunday night when she heard a loud, pounding sound behind her and saw dust filling the air. “The dust was all the way up, like a fire,” said the woman, who lives across the street from the site.

As the cars tumbled from the tracks, they sent wheels spinning into the middle of Valley Boulevard. No property damage was visible Monday. Although police dogs continued to sniff through the wreckage for possible bodies, officials said there seemed to be no casualties.

The cleanup prevented some residents from leaving their homes for work. For those going to work in other parts of town, the closing of Valley Boulevard was a major headache.

“It’s right up there with when the (Northridge) earthquake hit,” said Salvador Cardona, whose commuting time from San Gabriel to the City of Industry doubled.