Gary Wilkins says it was the loudest noise he has ever heard.

The Niagara Falls resident said he was walking to his storage unit on Stanley Avenue, near Heritage Drive and Classic Car Wash, at about 7 a.m. Monday when he heard a big bang.

“I’ve never heard something so loud in my life,” he said.

Wilkins said he was watching a CN train go by when a pin in a train car coupler broke.

“The one part of the train, the engine part, kept going. The back end of the train … just came right past me. One train going in two different directions — one’s going back toward Thorold Stone Road and one’s going toward Portage Road, underneath the bridge.”

Wilkins said he decided to investigate and took some photos.

“I found this pin that holds the coupler in place. The pin inside the coupler broke in ha

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