Tanker Car Derails, Vandalism Suspected

KEYSVILLE – Sometime between the afternoon of Tuesday, June 13 and the morning of June 15, vandals released the brakes on three tanker cars parked on a rail siding in Keysville and pushed them down a slope. The three cars were coupled together and rolled down a slight grade before hitting a derailing device designed to prevent railcars from unintentionally entering the main line track from the siding. One of the three railcars derailed before they came to a stop. The vandals also painted graffiti on a tank car and on a town-owned well building nearby.

A crane was brought in from Roanoke to lift the car back onto the rails. 

The Buckingham Branch Railroad’s investigation of the incident has determined that the handbrakes on all three railcars were released, and it was likely caused by vandalism. 

The Buckingham Branch Railroad is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible. Anyone with information can call Jim VanDerzee at 904-910-5079 or email: jim.vanderzee@buckinghambranch.com.