DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Elizabeth Thomas didn't mean to get lost, or stop a freight train, or cause any problems. But she certainly didn't expect to be billed for the mistake, either.

It was in July that the retired secretary got sidetracked on a side road in Delray Beach and drove her car up on a rock large enough to lift the front end off the ground.

With the rock under her front bumper, her front-wheel drive 1995 Honda Accord spun its wheels in the air, unable to get traction. A tow truck had to come out and bump Thomas's car off the rock, sending the retiree on her way.

With Thomas's car stuck several feet from the CSX Transportation railroad tracks, police held up a freight train, fearing the oncoming locomotive might strike the immobilized car.

Thomas had pretty much forgotten her rocky ride until she got a surprise in the mail from CSX this month. The Jacksonville-based company billed Thomas $291.61 because CSX had to send out an inspector to make sure the rails and nearby right-of-way property were not damaged.

Was Thomas being railroaded? Was the train operator's motive loco?

Puzzled, Thomas called the company for a clarification. Surely, she thought, the bill was sent by mistake.

"Now isn't that a goofy thing to happen?" she said at her home. "I don't see why I should have to pay CSX when I wasn't on the tracks and I didn't do any damage."

The July 15 inspection cost $218.78, according to her itemized bill. The charges also included $18.37 for bill preparation (a half hour) and $36.95 for supervisory work (one hour), both conducted Nov. 4, nearly four months after the incident. The charges represent hourly union rates, CSX spokesman Adam Hollingsworth said.

The company sends out about 200 bills a year for such inspection costs associated with what CSX calls right-of-way incursions, when people drive into the rail area or onto the tracks, according to Hollingsworth. CSX has 23,000 miles of track in 23 states.

"We bill them for all the labor associated with the inspection and the resulting administration of the billing," Hollingsworth said.

Safety and liability are the reasons for these inspections. Drivers don't always admit when they strike railroad tracks, and rail damage could cause a train derailment, he explained. Every incursion has to be checked out.

As Thomas pondered her next step, CSX called her three times in the past week to remind her to pay the charge, Thomas said.

But after a Palm Beach Post reporter asked about the company's policy on Tuesday, Thomas got a fourth call about an hour later.

"We have waived the bill," Hollingsworth said. "She just made an honest mistake."

"We did not bill her incorrectly," Hollingsworth emphasized. "This was a unique circumstance."

Thomas accepted the company's offer with good holiday cheer.

"He told me how justified the charges were, but under the circumstances he would waive it," she said. "They don't want negative publicity, especially at Christmas time."