NTSB Says No Warning Lights, Faded Signs at Rosedale Train Explosion Site

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board Wednesday found that the Rosedale intersection where a CSX train derailed and exploded last month had no active warning lights or gates.

In addition, two yellow stop signs "had faded significantly, and both had been displaced from their original mountings," the report stated.

One of the signs regulating traffic on the northbound side of the tracks was hung upside down facing away from the roadway, according to the one-page preliminary report.

[A copy of the preliminary report is attached to this article.]

John J. Alban Jr. drove his Mack Granite waste disposal truck May 28 along the northbound side of the tracks where he attempted to cross.

Alban, 50, is a a retired Baltimore County firefighter who resides in the 1200 block of Sussex Road in Essex.

The train, traveling at 49 mph, can be seen in a video striking the truck almost immediately behind the cab. Alban was not seriously injured.

The crash caused the train to derail and caused the seventh car—carrying sodium chlorate—and the ninth car—carrying terephthalic acid—to spill their contents and catch fire. A subsequent explosion "shattered windows and damaged siding on buildings as far as a mile away," according to the report. No other injuries were reported.

Read more:

• Train Derailment: What Did You See and Hear?
• PHOTOS: Scenes of Near Disaster from Train Derailment in Rosedale
• Investigators: Train Engineer Blasted Horn 17 Seconds Before Impact with Truck
• Watch: CSX Train Collides With Mack Truck