Train derails near Plum Creek Park

Nick Walton

A train sits idle after it derailed around 7 a.m. near Plum Creek Park off Cherry Street in Kent Thursday. Photo by Nikolas Kolenich.

A 27-car train derailed Thursday morning near Plum Creek Park off Cherry Street in Kent.

William Callison, president of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., said two engines and two cars of sand derailed around 5:30 a.m. Callison said the cause of the derailment appeared to be a broken rail.

“It’s not that common, but broken rails occur from time to time when you have hot and cold, and sometimes defects appear in the rail, and you will have a broken rail,” Callison said.

Callison expects the train to be back in service by Friday evening but said it would depend on how long it takes contractors to fix the rail.

The park closed Thursday because of the incident.

James Williams, Kent fire chief, said the department learned about the incident around 7 a.m. and monitored the up-righting process to make sure there were no leaks coming from the fuel tank or oil from the engines.

The incident is the second train derailing in Northeast Ohio this week. Monday morning, 14 cars of a 111-car CSX train containing ammonia and chlorine derailed in Newton Falls, east of Ravenna. The accident forced residents within 500 feet to evacuate until after 5 p.m. No one was injured and no dangerous chemicals were leaked.

Construction workers tend to a derailed train near Plum Creek Park off Cherry Street in Kent. Photo by Nikolas Kolenich.