WENDELL – Cleanup has begun at the site of a freight train derailment that sent 15 railroad cars carrying non-hazardous merchandise off the track Tuesday afternoon.

Scott Minckler, chief of the Leverett Police Department, told the Greenfield Recorder that some trees have been removed to accommodate necessary equipment and cleanup is expected to last between a few days and a couple of weeks. The Leverett Police Department serves Wendell.

“There’s not really a hard timeline,” he said.

The westbound train, which Wendell Police Sgt. Steven Gould said was operated by two engineers from Berkshire and Eastern Railroad, derailed near Farley Road at approximately 3:45 p.m. There were no injuries reported.

Minckler said Farley Road will remain closed for the time being, though a portion of an obstructive train car has been removed so emergency vehicles and local traffic can pass. Still, he said, people are asked to stay away from the area if possible. He said no cause for the derailment has been determined.

Sandra Goudreau, who has lived at 386 Farley Road for 20 years, described to the Recorder what she experienced when the derailment occurred.

“I heard it happen and the power went ‘flick, flick, flick’ and the power went out,” she said. “I called my neighbor and my neighbor said, ‘You have a train in your driveway.’”

The derailment prompted a regional emergency response that included police and firefighters from Wendell, Erving, Greenfield, Orange and New Salem. Greenfield Police’s Special Operations Unit also responded and operated a drone over the freight cars.

Gould mentioned a “train enthusiast” was seen photographing or videotaping the train moments before the derailment, but he did not believe the spectator captured the derailment on video.

Information from reporter Anthony Cammalleri and photographer Paul Franz was used in this report.