RobotRisk › Sperry Rail Service › 15 Feb 2015
CSX crude oil train derails and catches fire in Mount Carbon, WV after Sperry inspection missed broken rail
S4 · 15 Feb 2015 · Sperry Rail Service · Mount Carbon, WV, USA
Record
| Company | Sperry Rail Service |
| Industry | Rail suppliers |
| Type(s) | crash |
| Date | 15 Feb 2015 (day precision) |
| Time of day | 13:30 ET |
| Location | Mount Carbon, WV, USA |
| Severity | (serious injury, total loss, or grounding) |
| Scale | 25-27 tank cars derailed, 1 injury, 1 home destroyed |
| Confidence | high |
| Verified flag | Yes - independently re-checked against the cited source |
Summary
A CSX unit train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed near Mount Carbon, WV when a broken rail (vertical split head defect) gave way; contractor Sperry Rail Service had detected rail flaw indications at that location in Dec 2014 and Jan 2015 ultrasonic tests, but its operator did not follow up with a ground visual exam or hand test to confirm them. About 25-27 tank cars derailed and the resulting fire destroyed a home and garage, injured one person via smoke inhalation, and forced roughly 1,000 residents to evacuate.
Primary source
Publisher: Bluefield Daily Telegraph · Retrieved: 2026-09-16
Supporting source rows (1)
| Date | Supporting source row | Publisher | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Feb 2015 | CSX crude oil train derails and catches fire in Mount Carbon, WV after Sperry inspection missed broken rail | Bluefield Daily Telegraph | Bluefield Daily Telegrap |
Sperry Rail Service other incidents timeline
Rail suppliers context
crash context
Sperry Rail Service industry position
Related incidents
Other Sperry Rail Service entries
Report a correction
Also from Critical Systems Analysis: CSA - functional safety engineering · Company directory · FSTalent - functional safety jobs