Suspicious birdhouse shuts down railroad

Staff
An exploded firework, looking like a grenade, shutdown the train tracks in Charlotte.
An exploded firework, looking like a grenade, shutdown the train tracks in Charlotte.

A suspicious birdhouse shut down the train through Charlotte for about two hours on Monday.

About 10:30 a.m. on July 11, the Vermont State Police got a report of a possible grenade located in a birdhouse near the train tracks.

Train service, which at that time of the day was only freight traffic, was closed for safety.

State troopers found an item in the birdhouse that was shaped like a hand grenade, but that didn’t have the fusing system of a hand grenade and was made of plastic.

The troopers determined it was the remains of a firework that appeared to have already been shot off, Vermont State Police said in a release.

The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information that might help in the investigation is asked to call 802-878-7111 or leave an anonymous tip online.