Train derailment in Oshawa

A CP Rail train derailed in a central Oshawa neighbourhood Friday afternoon, pushing cars into nearby backyards and a schoolyard during recess.

The neighbourhood, north of Highway 401 at Park Road South in central Oshawa, remained evacuated as of 5:45 p.m. The Park Road bridge, under which the derailment occurred, has been shut.

“˜”˜Just on the other side of that bridge, there are 20 cars stacked up like an accordion,’’ resident Phil Kirkham told the National Post, as he and Wanda Hedrick left their Hibbert Avenue home in their Pontiac.

Oshawa Fire Chief Steve Merringer said police had evacuated four or five streets around the derailment, affecting several hundred people. Residents were being taken to a nearby community centre, but will likely be able to go home Friday night.

Skyler Sanders, 9, said he was playing with his friends outside St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School at recess when the locomotive came screeching to a halt.

“˜”˜I heard like it crashed onto the grass. I know there was a lot of smoke,’’ said Skyler, who was promptly brought indoors by teachers.

“˜”˜In my class, they were saying a train is on fire, a train is on fire.’’

One woman whose home backs on to the train tracks was gardening in her backyard when she heard, but not saw, the derailment.

“˜”˜Have you ever heard a train on a track grinding? That’s what it sounded like,’’ said Cindy, who didn’t want her last name used. “˜”˜Then there was a weird pop and bang sound.’’

She said she knew instantly what had happened, although she could not see because a fence obscured her view. She said minutes later, police came around advising her to evacuate, but she opted not to because her father was ill.

Oshawa Councillor Robert Lutczyk, standing 100 feet away from two still-standing locomotives at 4:25 p.m., told the National Post that there appears no imminent safety threat.

“˜”˜The situation appears docile. There’s no fire, no smoke, the locomotives just look like they’re parked there.’’

Mr. Lutczyk said he fears the derailment might be linked to vandalism. The Park Road bridge, where railway switching equipment is located, is notorious as a hang-out, he said.

“˜”˜I get calls from residents saying kids are in there and they’re wrecking things. And I’ve passed their concerns on. I’ve called CP Rail Police to come here. The CP Police have told me … they’ve got thousands of lines of track and only a few people.’’

“˜”˜I’m not surprised this has happened. Vandals are getting in there and messing with the switching equipment.’’

The resident, Cindy, said teenagers occasionally play on the tracks, but CP Rail appears to keep a close eye on the tracks.

The train was carrying hydrogen peroxide, and the engines carry a lot of fuel.

“˜”˜We don’t believe we have a leak,’’ said Chief Merringer, who said they were waiting for CP’s hazmat team to arrive for an assessment. “˜”˜Unfortunately, that one car is sitting with two cars on top of it.’’

Mr. Lutczyk said he’s just glad the damage isn’t worse.

“˜”˜Oshawa’s an old industrial city. And rail lines and old industrial cities go together like ham and eggs and peanut butter and jam.’’

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