Rail traffic through Charlotte stopped for two hours yesterday after Vermont Rail personnel spotted an apparent grenade in a birdhouse. 

At about 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 11, the Vermont State Police received a report from Vermont Rail System of a possible grenade located in a bird house adjacent to a path maintained for railroad service vehicles near the railway line in Charlotte. For safety purposes, train traffic, which on July 11 consisted of freight train traffic only, was temporarily suspended.

Troopers responded to the scene and found an item in a bird house shaped similar to the body of a hand grenade. Further assessment by the troopers and Bomb Squad personnel found the item did not contain the fusing system of a hand grenade, and the body was constructed of plastic. 

The item was preliminarily identified as the remains of a consumer-grade firework. It appears the firework was expended, and the remnants were collected for disposal. 

With the incident resolved, train service resumed after having been suspended for about two hours.

The circumstances surrounding this incident remain under investigation, and no further details are available. Anyone who has information that could assist investigators is asked to call the Vermont State Police Williston Barracks at 802-878-7111, or leave an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.