As for East Palestine, this town of 5,000 people has always revolved, in one way or another, around these train tracks. They cut right through the center of town, with trains running "every 13 minutes." But in recent years, Norfolk Southern has cut thousands of jobs -- leading to many locals wondering if this rail car's broken axel could have been avoided.
"They call them bomb trains," said Ratner, describing trains barreling through town at high rates of speed with flammable materials.
Now, the trains are back -- even more often than days past, as freighters try to make up for delayed deliveries.
