Black and white tanker cars lining the Reading Blue Mountain Northern Railroad in the area have drawn the interest of residents and local officials.

Of particular note, the cars include a UN1267 flammable liquid placard required when carrying petroleum crude oil, causing many to ask what is inside them.Mark Nalesnik, Carbon County Emergency Management Agency coordinator, said he contacted the railroad, which told him the cars are empty.Cars have been spotted along the line from Packerton to Glen Onoko on both sides of the Lehigh River, and even into Schuylkill County."All I can go by is what the railroad told me, and that was they are just there for storage," Nalesnik said. "The rail company is supposed to tell the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency when there is a shipment coming through certain counties, and PEMA is supposed to notify the county. We were not notified in this situation, and if they are empty, there isn't a whole lot we can do."Empty, according to PEMA Press Secretary Cory Angell, doesn't necessarily mean safe if they've been used before."It still could be hazardous because with any type of liquid, the fumes would be a hazard," Angell said. "Whether empty is more of a hazard than full, I couldn't tell you. Some people use the analogy of a gas can for a lawnmower. Sometimes the one that is half to a quarter full is more dangerous than the one that is full."Nalesnik, however, did note that the cars look new.Questions from residents also prompted Jim Thorpe police to look into the issue."I thought there would be crude oil in them, but we called the railroad and they told us they're empty," said Police Chief Joe Schatz. "They have those trains sitting all over the place and they said they're just storing them. I don't know how long they'll be there."Although the U.S. Department of Transportation said last year it no longer considered information on crude oil as security sensitive, railroads are not required to share information with the public about hazardous materials, according to federal law.Reading Blue Mountain Northern Railroad did not return calls for comment.