Freight train derails outside Visalia SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, Calif. -- Work crews were still cleaning up Thursday after a five-car train derailed and sent two boxcars full of mozzarella cheese tumbling to their sides six miles northeast of Visalia, railroad officials said. The derailment occurred about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, said Bob Jones, crew chief for contractors hired by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad, which owns the train. The incident occurred where the railroad company's tracks cross Avenue 315 near Charter Oak Drive. "We're hoping to save at least some of the cheese and load it onto refrigeration trucks," Jones said. Randy Perry, general manager for the San Joaquin Valley Railroad who was on site Thursday, said the cause of the derailment was "under investigation." Jones, however, said the derailment was likely due to rails that had been warped by intense heat over the past week. "It was a thermal problem," Jones said. "[The track] fell in, wheels came off, and the cars rolled over." Jones said the cheese was from Denver-based Leprino Foods, which has a cheese processing plant in Lemoore. "[The cheese] was on its way to Fresno," Jones said. There was no report on exactly how much cheese had been loaded into the rail cars. Five cars overall were involved in the derailment, but the other three managed to stay on the track. San Joaquin Valley Railroad crews set about repairing a 100-foot stretch of track Thursday, pulling out the warped section of track and replacing it with fresh rails. Perry did not say how long the track would be closed to train traffic. (The preceding article by Gerald Carroll was published August 31, 2007, by the Visalia Times-Delta.)
