The 2012 train derailment and chemical spill in Paulsboro will be featured on an episode of the History Channel show "Engineering Disasters" this weekend.

A spinoff of the network's popular series "Modern Marvels," "Engineering Disasters" is an hour-long show that highlights engineering mishaps and natural disasters that have affected infrastructure.

Each episode features five cases, combining eyewitness accounts and expert testimony looking into how each incident occurred, according to associate producer Matt Loomis.

One of the five cases in Saturday's episode will be the November 2012 train derailment that resulted in thousands of Paulsboro residents being evacuated from their homes when vinyl chloride -- a chemical used in the production of PVC plastics -- was released into the borough's air.

At the center of the segment will be the century-old Jefferson Street swing bridge. In 2009 the bridge buckled under the weight of the cargo train crossing it and on that fateful morning in 2012, its failure to fully lock in the closed position caused the accident that sent four train cars into the water of Mantua Creek below.

The National Transportation Safety Board has since ruled that the cause of the accident can be contributed to the train being allowed to cross the bridge, despite a red signal indicating that the bridge was not fully prepared to bear the weight of the train.

Gary and Rae Lynn Stevenson, who live next to the bridge and were the first witnesses to the accident, were interviewed for the show, as well as an expert in railroads and trains.

In addition to the train derailment, the episode will also feature segments on a Colorado storm that took out nine dams, a natural gas line break, a cargo jet crash in Afghanistan and a cruise ship's failure.

It will air on Saturday at 10:03 p.m., Sunday at 2:04 a.m. and Saturday May 9 at 9 a.m.

For more information visit www.history.com.

Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.