12 rail cars tipped over in Stockbridge

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (WWLP) - At least 12 rail cars of a 2,000 foot-long freight train tipped over after a derailment in Stockbridge Friday night.

Stockbridge Police officer  Bruce Stringer said some 600 feet of track was damaged when the train left the tracks a little after 6:30 p.m. 

Officer Stringer said the Housatonic Railroad train was hauling trash from Canaan, Connecticut to Pittsfield. 

The train left the the tracks parallel to Glendale Road between Furnace Road and the Great Barrington town line.

Stockbridge firefighters were called in to hose down the cargo of garbage, which officer Stringer said was smoking.

Stockbridge residents living in the vicinity of the derailment told 22News, they're relieved there were no chemicals involved which might have made it necessary to evacuate their neighborhood. The people we spoke with were amazed by the damage.

"It's crazy, it's totally crazy, it's a lot more damage than I thought there would be. It was hard to visualize it in my head, so I wanted to check it out.. I've never seen anything like this, It's kind of interesting. It's just a big thing, it's something you see in the movies," said Lisa Carlotto of Stockbridge.

A Housatonic railroad worker, who asked not to be identified, told 22News it could be Sunday or Monday at the earliest before the freight cars resume their journey to nearby Pittsfield.