SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A CSX train train jumped the tracks in South Charleston Thursday morning.
Approximately 17 cars derailed on the tracks along First Avenue at shortly after 9:30 a.m.
Longtime First Avenue resident Patricia Clark said she felt it and heard it.
“It sounded to me like we were having an earthquake, with the noise,” Clark told MetroNews. “Then it dawned on me that it was a train derailment.”
— Jeff Jenkins (@JeffJenkinsMN) August 6, 2026
The train appeared to be heading west. There were cars still on the tracks in front and behind the derailed cars.
The derailment happened right behind two South Charleston hotels. Holiday Inn worker Ashley Nelson and her co-workers came out to see what happened. She said she didn’t hear it happen.
“No! We didn’t even know it derailed. The people were like ‘It’s off the tracks!’ and we ran out and it was off the tracks. We didn’t hear a boom or nothing,” Nelson said.
Matthew Mantiply was in his hotel room and saw the derailment out his window.
“I saw a train on its side and some smoke coming out and I came down here to check it out,” he said.
South Charleston Fire Chief Virgil White said he’s thankful there were no hazardous chemicals involved in the derailment.
More video from train derailment in South Charleston pic.twitter.com/J8ZyOpRZaX
— Jeff Jenkins (@JeffJenkinsMN) August 6, 2026
“The derailment’s bad but it’s good that it was grain and not chemicals or we would have a bigger problem on our hands,” White told MetroNews.
He added the train derailed in a pretty easy to get to place for those who will be in charge of cleaning things up.
“It couldn’t have happened in a better spot than right here if there was a spot for it to happen,” he said. “It’s readily accessible by us and when CSX crews get here to do their assessment and mitigation it will be a lot easier to fix the problem.”
Clark said she’s lived on the street and by the tracks for 50 years and what happened Thursday was a first.
“Nothing’s ever happened like that,” she said.