Lieutenant Jeff Gordon, spokesman for the state Highway Patrol in Raleigh, said at the scene this evening the rig was being escorted by troopers because of its size.

It had been under escort since departing Johnston County when the driver approached the intersection of Highway 903 and Highway 301.

The trucker was traveling under an approved Department of Transportation permit because of the oversize load of the building, which Gordon described as a mobile home-like unit containing an electrical grid destined for New Jersey.

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Around 12:15 this afternoon, the rig came to the intersection in Halifax and was going to turn left onto Highway 301, but could not make the turn without clipping a utility pole. He then attempted to bak up to give the rig a wider swath and successfully get on Highway 301 to continue the state Highway Patrol escort to the Virginia line.

At the same time an Amtrak train that had left Charlotte destined for New York City was coming around the bend.

The locomotive struck the trailer. The locomotive derailed as did the baggage car behind it, Gordon said. A third car behind the baggage car was partially derailed.

The train was carrying 212 passengers. As of this report 55 were injured with what Gordon called non-life threatening injuries. Some of the injured passengers were taken to Halifax Regional Medical Center by bus and some by ambulance.

Non-injured passengers taken to the Halifax County Agricultural Building have since left. Gordon said. Some were picked up in a bus Amtrak provided or were provided transportation to pick up another train. Some passengers were picked up by family or friends, some coming as far as Charlotte to pick them up.

As of this report the two derailed cars were in the process of being righted so another engine could come and haul non-damaged cars away, Gordon said.

The amount of structural damage was not immediately known. Derailments typically damage tracks and there were other damages still being assessed, Gordon said.

It was unclear how fast the train was going. A state Highway Patrol reconstruction team was at the scene this evening and its aviation unit had also investigated. The train also has a device similar to the flight data recorder on aircraft to determine speed.

Gordon is expected to release a statement on the matter at some point Tuesday.