When Jacqueline Nelson heard the crash Sunday night, she knew it was not the normal sound of a train passing behind her home.
Her house shook. Then came the loud boom.
“Oh, no. Not again,” Nelson remembered saying.
A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed near the 600 block of Ferguson Avenue shortly after 7 p.m., sending several rail cars off the tracks. The train was hauling vehicle carriers filled with GMC trucks.
The derailment damaged a bridge, knocked out power in parts of the neighborhood and closed nearby streets. No injuries were reported, and officials said the train was not carrying hazardous materials.
Sunday’s derailment happened five days before the sixth anniversary of a Sept. 25, 2020, derailment in the same neighborhood. Nelson said that crash damaged her backyard and bedroom.
“I felt the vibration. I heard the boom because the whole house shook,” Nelson said of Sunday’s derailment.
When she walked outside and saw smoke, she immediately thought about what happened nearly six years earlier.
“This is really ironic,” Nelson said. “They’ve got to do something.”
Doris Belton and Cricket Stiles, who also live in the neighborhood, heard the crash.
Belton said trains regularly cause homes and businesses near the tracks to vibrate, but Sunday night felt different.
“We always get the vibration of the train coming through anyway, just normal, but this time it was not a normal rumbling,” Belton said.
Belton said she wondered whether the train was moving too fast. Minutes later, she heard a loud clatter and saw the lights begin to flicker.
Stiles also noticed the flickering lights and the unusual sound of the train.
“We didn’t lose power, but then you heard the rumbling of the train and knew something else went down,” Stiles said.
“I did not realize it was this much damage,” Belton said.
Both women expressed concerns about the speed of trains approaching the nearby curve, although officials have not said speed played a role in Sunday’s derailment.
Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle said officers arrived shortly after receiving the call and found several cargo cars off the tracks.
Police contacted the train’s engineer and worked to determine what the cars were carrying. Once officials confirmed there were no hazardous materials, residents were told they did not need to evacuate or shelter in place.
“Our primary job now is assisting the railroad in getting this all cleaned up and making sure that we can open up some of our streets so our residents can flow through freely,” Doyle said.
Ferguson Fire Chief John Hampton said the department initially sent a hazardous materials team to the scene. The team was released after crews inspected the train and determined there was no danger to nearby residents.
“There’s no threat to the community,” Hampton said.
Norfolk Southern crews worked through the night and into Monday removing the damaged rail cars and GMC trucks. Crews also began repairing the tracks and assessing damage to the bridge.
The cause of the derailment remained under investigation Monday.
Hampton said the bridge must be repaired before the road beneath it can reopen. Officials did not provide a timeline for completing the work.
“I ask our residents to continue to be a little bit patient while these guys are able to do their job,” Doyle said.
Nelson said passing trains regularly shake her home. She and other residents believe trains sometimes approach the curve too quickly.
“Normally, that train flies through here all day and all night,” Nelson said. “When the weather’s bad, I’m really afraid.”