Of all the things you would rather not derail in your neighborhood, we think "30,000 gallons of liquefied propane" would be near the top of the list. Yesterday morning, a freight train car carrying the precarious cargo derailed on the LIRR near Maspeth.
Newsday reports that brakes failed when an engineer was "backing the cars" into a different yard. Luckily, the fire department and other agencies were able to secure the scene, but evacuated businesses and homes as a precaution. Freight train operator New York & Atlantic Railway said, "At no time was anybody in danger. It's very unlikely a tank car would rupture in the yard. Tank cars are built like battleships." Well, we rather not find out - go check all the brakes on your cars.
Residents and businesses were able to return shortly after, but authorities said that removing the propane could take until today.
