Click to enlarge GARY SEWELL / HERALD DEMOCRAT Loaded gravel cars on Tuesday caused the rails south of the Crawford Street railroad crossing in Denison to give way, causing a derailment.

BY MARY JANE FARMER

HERALD DEMOCRAT

A long train passing through Denison on Tuesday afternoon got stuck for quite some time thanks to heavy rains causing railroad tracks to sink, which prevented the train's metal wheels from crossing them.

Five cars, loaded with concrete gravel, derailed, but did not overturn, reported Denison police Lt. Mike Eppler.

Crawford Street and the eastbound lane of Morton Street was blocked during the repair time, with east-west traffic being re-routed across Denison by police and firefighters. Denison ISD was contacted to let its bus drivers know of the potential need to re-route their buses, and at least one ambulance also had to change course during an emergency because of the barriers.

Eppler said the situation was alleviated by mid-afternoon as individual cars were freed from the train and removed from the intersections.