A report by the National Transportation Safety Board, released Wednesday (Nov. 16), says the railroad brakeman does not remember setting the track switch in a safe position before quitting work about 7 p.m. Jan. 5.

Because the switch was in the wrong position, a swift-moving Norfolk Southern train ran off the main railroad track at Graniteville, crashed into a locomotive parked on an industrial spur and spilled toxic chlorine.

Nine people were killed in the 2:39 a.m. crash Jan. 6. Another 250 were injured and 5,400 were evacuated from the small Aiken County town.

The NTSB report released Wednesday is a forerunner to a final study that will suggest how to avoid such accidents. That report is not expected out until next year, but the accident already has prompted reform measures by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The brakeman, who was not identified by name in the report, has previously been identified as Mike Ford of Lexington County. Ford and two other railroad workers were fired by Norfolk Southern last winter. Attempts to reach Ford were unsuccessful Wednesday.

Ford, who has more than 20 years railroad experience, was one of three crew members on a train that parked for the night at the Avondale Mills plant in Graniteville.

The train was originally supposed to be parked at Warrenville, but the crew was rushing to finish work for the day to comply with federal work-day rules.

The NTSB report said the brakeman told investigators he had turned a switch that allowed his train to move from a main track to the mill’s industrial spur. Seven hours later, a train loaded with 14 hazardous materials cars ran off the main track and slammed into the parked train.

Investigators say the switch was never returned to the proper position, forcing the moving train off the main track.

Asked if he realigned the switch back to the main track after parking the train, the brakeman said:

“I had it in my mind, I was going to do that, but I am not 100 percent sure that I did,” the report quoted the brakeman as saying. “I would say I might have made a mistake. I am not positive 100 percent.”

The train’s conductor then told the NTSB that he did not check to see if the switch was lined in the proper position before leaving for the night, the report said. The conductor of the train has previously been identified as Jimmy Ray Thornton of West Columbia. Attempts to Thornton also were unsuccessful Wednesday night.

Train crew members then left the mill site by taxi, which drove within 21 feet of the improperly set switch, the report said. No one noticed the switch in the wrong position, the report said.

“I didn’t look at the switch,” the conductor said. ““When we got off of the locomotive unit and got into the taxi.... there was no discussion between any of the guys about the switch.”

Engineer Benjamin Aiken said he did not notice whether either man had realigned the switch.

Misaligned switches are one of the leading causes of train wrecks.

The Federal Railroad Administration reported that between January 2001 and December 2003, there were 751 accidents where switches were not aligned properly and 74 where the switches were not locked.

Hand-operated track switches left in the wrong position caused eight other serious train wrecks since the Graniteville accident. Ten people died and more than 600 were injured in these crashes.

Since the deadly Graniteville derailment, the FRA ordered all railroads to improve their manual track switching procedures or face fines of up to $27,000.

Although much of the NTSB report released this week contains information reported widely in the media, it provides chilling new details of what happened early on the morning of Jan. 6 in Graniteville.

Among other things, the report says the engineer of the moving train, Chris Seeling of West Columbia, and another crew member had been on duty only about two hours before the wreck occurred. They replaced a crew that had been working most of the day.

The report said that, after the wreck, a bleeding Seeling called dispatchers to notify them of the wreck and ask for an ambulance. Dispatchers then lost radio contact with Seeling, who later died from inhaling chlorine that leaked from a tanker car. The ill-fated train’s other crew member, its conductor, survived the wreck.

In addition to those details, the report also said:

•The parked train was not originally supposed to have been left for the night at Avondale Mills, but at a side track in nearby Warrenville. The crew was running late and trying to comply with rules saying they could work only 12 hours.

•The FBI found no evidence that the railroad switch had been tampered with or was defective.

•A reenactment of the crash by federal investigators found that the switch’s banner, showing the track in the wrong position, was not clearly visible until an approaching train was 566 feet away.

•The train was traveling 45 to 48 mph as it approached the mill site. The legal limit was 49 mph.