Brian Nearing in the Albany Times-Union reports that a misplaced piece of safety equipment triggered a derailment of 18 CSX railroad cars Wed., Jan. 21 at the Selkirk rail yard, the state Department of Transportation said Thursday. Two of the cars had been emptied earlier of highly explosive propane before the accident, which was caused by a derailer inadvertently left on the tracks by a crew that had been making repairs. "The remote control operator was moving freight cars onto that section of track when they ran into the derailer, pushing them off the tracks. Investigators believe the remote control operator was initially unaware of what was happening and continued to move the cars down the track, causing more to derail," according to DOT. Four cars in the accident were classified for hazardous materials: two for propane, one containing residue of a chemical herbicide, and another containing an industrial acid. The accident is the second derailment at the Selkirk yard this year. In February, 13 tanker cars carrying about 29,000 gallons of highly flammable crude oil each derailed, but did not spill or explode. The DOT fined CSX $5,000 for failing to notify the state of the derailment within the one-hour requirement, but this time, they made the deadline. Read the full story in the Times-Union.