It was still not clear Monday what caused the derailment early Sunday morning or when service would be returned to the tracks. Scheduled Amtrak trains were stopped in town Monday and the passengers were bused to Springfield, Mass.
New track was brought in Monday to replace the broken lengths, although it was not known when reconstruction would be complete or when normal service would resume, according to the Bellows Falls Police Department.
''By noontime, all the cars were back on the tracks, except one that had to be towed away,'' said Bellows Falls Sgt. William Hoyt.
Police initially reported nine train cars were involved in the derailment.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by New England Central Railroad general manager Charles Hunter, according to police.
Sunday's derailment knocked five cars off the track near Granger Street between Route 5 and the Connecticut River, according to police. Three of the cars tipped over in the accident.
There were no injuries in the crash and the cars did not contain any hazardous materials, police said. Most of the cars were carrying paper products and lumber.
One of the derailed cars caught fire Monday when a spark from a welder caused the car's contents of rolled paper to ignite, according to the Bellows Falls Fire Department.
Firefighters from that department fought the blaze for nearly three hours Monday, but a majority of the contents and the car were considered a total loss.
''The car was probably a total loss before the fire even started,'' said one Bellows Falls firefighter.
