Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 24, 1992                   TAG: 9203240247
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: PEMBROKE                                LENGTH: Short

ENGINEER'S IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER TRAIN COLLISION

F.E. Johnson of Daleville was undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury, a hospital spokesman said.

Johnson, 45, was the engineer of a NS grain train that crashed into the rear of a NS coal train around 10 a.m. Sunday. Both were eastbound on NS track along the north side of the New River.

T.J. White, 25, of Salem, the conductor on Johnson's train, received minor injuries. He was treated at the hospital emergency room and released. Both men jumped from the train before the crash, NS spokesman Robert Auman said.

NS has estimated that the accident caused $252,800 in damage, Auman said. The two lead locomotives on the four-engine grain train overturned and were severely damaged.

Two coal cars also derailed, spilling a lot of coal along the track. Traffic was rerouted to other NS lines. The track was reopened at 4 a.m. Monday.

It will be a few more days yet before the derailed locomotives are removed and permanent new track is laid, Auman said. NS also will be excavating and taking away some contaminated soil from a small diesel spill.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, Auman said. The railroad will be conducting a formal hearing into the cause in the near future, he said.