Preliminary Report on Ellicott City Train Derailment Released

Weather and speed suggested as non-factors.

Study of Intermodal Sites in Greater Elkridge Suspended

An environmental review process in Hanover, Jessup and Beltsville properties has halted, state official said.

A federally mandated study of four sites in central Maryland for a train-truck facility—three in the greater Elkridge area—has been halted as transportation officials look to Baltimore City for a CSX freight project instead. Since March 2011, CSX and Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) have been eyeing Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties for an intermodal facility that would serve as a regional hub for freight transfers. Residents in greater Elkridge expressed concern about their health and property values should the large-scale operation be located nearby. Of the four sites being considered, one is on Hanover at Race roads; another, on Montevideo at Dorsey Run roads; a third at Brock Bridge Road; and another in …

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Train Derailment Cost $2.2 Million, Says CSX

A complete report could take one year, according to National Transportation Safety Board.

CSX has estimated the cost of last week's train derailment in Ellicott City, and the subsequent clean-up, at $2.2 million, according to a statement from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In addition to the cost, NTSB announced that the initial investigation of signal systems and personnel is complete and all rail equipment was recovered. The time estimate of the derailment was also changed to 11:56 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, which is slightly earlier than initial reports. On Tuesday, Aug. 21, NTSB spokesperson Eric Weiss said a preliminary report should be completed within 10 days.  In an email one week later, he said he didn't know the "exact timing." For more news on the Ellicott City train derailment follow these links: With …

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Ellicott City Main Street to Reopen

Find out when the main artery through historic downtown is set to reopen following a fatal train derailment early Tuesday morning.

Howard County officials have announced that Main Street in Ellicott City is set to reopen at 7 p.m. Friday night. The road has been closed since early Tuesday morning when a train derailed, causing the death of two young women. Those two women, Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Mayr, both 19, of Ellicott City, died in the incident after they were "buried under the coal as it dumped from the train cars," Howard County police said. Local blogger Tom Coale has initiated a Main Street Appreciation Weekend this weekend, saying in a Facebook announcement: Let's help our local businesses get back on their feet after a tough year. Find a way to eat, drink, or buy something sold by one of our Downtown Ellicott City Merchants this weekend. Related …

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Coca Cola Drive Middle School Site Sparks Safety Discussion

Oxford Square, a development off Coca Cola Drive that contains future middle school site, is adjacent to the CSX main line.

After two Mount Hebron graduates died in a CSX freight train derailment this week, some Howard County citizens say they are concerned about the middle school planned on Coca Cola Drive near the rail line. “Having seen this happen twice in a month in Howard County, how can you ignore that?” said Leslie Kornreich of Hanover, referencing the Aug. 8 derailment in Woodstock and Aug. 21 derailment in Ellicott City. The middle school on Coca Cola Drive will be 1,530 feet from the CSX main line, according to the most recent plans on record with Howard County. It will be located within a residential and business community called Oxford Square, which is still in the planning stages. During an interview on WYPR's “Midday with Dan Rodricks” show …

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Elle

11:37 pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Speaking of the calming strips on Mayfield Ave, it looks like they aren't going to put them back. They're resurfacing the road and I asked about the speed bumps and was told they weren't going in. I hope this information was wrong because if it wasn't, I'm going to cause a big stink about it. lol   more ›

Funeral Services Set for Train Derailment Victims

Services will be held in Ellicott City, where both victims grew up.

Funeral services have been scheduled for the two 19-year-old women killed Tuesday morning when a freight train derailed in Ellicott City. Two viewing services are scheduled Friday, Aug. 24 for Rose Louese Mayr at Harry H. Witzke's Family Funeral Home; one from 3 - 5 p.m. and one from 7 - 9 p.m.  Mayr's funeral will be held at Bethany United Methodist Church on Sat., Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. A visitation is scheduled for Elizabeth Conway Nass Thursday, Aug. 23 from 5 - 8 p.m. at Church of the Resurrection. A memorial mass will be held at Ressurection on Friday, Aug. 24 at 11 a.m. Both Ellicott City residents and 2010 graduates of Mount Hebron High School, Mayr was studying at University of Delaware and lived in Newark, DE. Nass was a student at …

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Investigation Begins in Ellicott City's Fatal Train Derailment

An Ellicott City train derailment killed two teens early Tuesday morning.

National officials leading the probe into why a CSX train derailed early Tuesday morning in Ellicott City, resulting in the death of two teens, said they are investigating what caused the incident. “I can't speculate on that right now; it's day one," said Jim Southworth, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), during a press conference in downtown Ellicott City Tuesday. When Patch asked whether the two teens' presence on the tracks caused the derailment, Southworth said: "I don’t know anything about that at this time. It’s another area that we’ll look into quite closely." Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Mayr, both 19, of Ellicott City, died in the Tuesday 12:02 a.m. incident in which the train passed behind them on …

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