[throwaway0a5e]

>Does this mean that the switch points were blocked by the trash/dumped packages?

Potentially, I know they can get clogged up with the right mixture of snow turned into ice. Trash is hard to pack that densely without trying though I suppose a large object could have jammed the switch gear.

>There was a video showing that one of the rails had fallen over on its side.

A train riding two rails will put a lot of sideways force on the rails pulling them together. Rails aren't shaped to resist very much force in that direction.

>where the US Army had a tough time derailing trains they were trying to sabotage, so this is all amazing to me.

They were working under very different constraints than you or I.