Last of derailed Norfolk Southern cars removed from Guys Run; Freeport Road remains closed

The last of the Norfolk Southern tanker cars that toppled into Guys Run Creek during a derailment last week in Harmar have been removed, officials said Sunday.

“The last tank car containing petroleum distillate was removed from the creek this morning, and all rail cars have now been removed from the creek,” officials said in a statement.

Freeport Road remained closed in both directions between the Hulton Bridge and Guys Run Road. Officials did not offer a timetable for when cleanup might be complete and the road reopened. Traffic is being detoured to Powers Run Road/Fox Chapel Road on the O’Hara side and to Guys Run Road on the Harmar side.

Crews discovered Saturday night that one of the tankers had been leaking petroleum distillate since the derailment Thursday afternoon. Officials said, as crews removed the rail car, they discovered the bottom valve had been damaged during the derailment.

They estimated about 3,000 gallons of distillate leaked into the creek, though they noted it remained mostly within the area previously cordoned off with booms. The booms float atop the water and act as a barrier and were in place to keep the distillate, which stays on the surface of the water, from flowing into the Allegheny River.

Officials said “some minor sheening” was noticed outside of the boom.

Samples from the water’s surface were taken Saturday and Sunday from the area near the derailment to test for potential contamination to the river, officials said, and samples taken from drinking water intakes on the Allegheny have shown no concerns.

The derailment happened shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday when a construction vehicle collided with the train not far from the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority treatment plant. Seventeen cars derailed, with nine of them ending up in Guys Run.