No one was injured when 10 cars jumped the tracks near the Beavers Road crossing, approximately two miles north of Dalton.

It was a mechanical defect in one of the cars involved in the derailment, said Gary Sease, a spokesman for CSX, an international transportation company. He described the defect as a worn wear plate and friction castings within the wheel assembly and axle of the car ... that was worn in such a way that it led to the derailment.

This (assembly) helps stabilize the travel of the car when it is in appropriate condition, he explained.

Sease said railway cars owned or leased by the company are visually inspected on a daily basis, but the wearing of the assembly is not seen during visual inspections.

That type of defect would only be seen in an intensive inspection, he said, noting the car in question last received a major inspection in December of 2008.

Sease said the car was shipper owned but could not provide the identity of the cars owner from the material he had at hand.

It could be that its a rail car leaser and not a company, he said.

Other evidence showed the train was moving at 24 mph in a 25 mph zone, said Sease. The 64-car train was carrying lumber and cotton seeds. Seven of the cars that derailed were loaded and three were unloaded. The car with the defective wheel was full of cotton seeds.

(This item appeared in the Daily Citizen Aug. 18, 2009.)