On January 5, 2005, NS local train P22 (lead by GP59 #4622) began its daily operation. The regularly assigned conductor and engineer were both off duty on January 5, and the jobs were filled for the day from a list of available standby employees. At the end of their scheduled run, train P22's crew parked the train on a siding near the Avondale Mills plant. The train crew contacted the local train dispatcher at 7:53PM and 7:54PM to clear two track warrants that were protecting train P22's use of the tracks. Although the railroad switch for the Avondale Mills siding was supposed to be set for mainline operation before P22's crew departed for the night, the train's brakeman later told the NTSB that he was "not 100 percent sure" he had aligned the switch for mainline operation, and that he "might have made a mistake." No train operated through the area or used the affected tracks for the rest of the day.