Doesn't LOOK like anything a good auto body shop couldn't fix.
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A little duct tape should do the trick!
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Shame about the 'dozer driver. Thankfully the train didn't derail, could have been a disaster for a lot more families.
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And I suppose the little camera there in the cab caught it all. It's a shame that the dozer operator died, and I sometimes forget the emotional impact to the engineer in these accidents.
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36 years in engine service across the country,I have 9 kills and many more accidents with injuries only,plus a wreck if Fountain,CO. in August 1980.Most people have no idea about what you see from the cab,or what you experience when you look eye to eye with a kid just about to use you to end his life.I don't have much sympathy for a driver ignoring all the warning signs that is there to save his/her life and risking my life and those of my passengers.When things like this happens,the family of the motorist retains an attorney and they grill YOU!Been there.
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I wonder if Amtrak or a police department will release the video footage of the wreck from the Amtraks camera in the cab window.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't a bulldozer (steel cleats/track) operator need authorization (and perhaps a maintainer on scene) to cross active railroad tracks? Something about affecting/twisting the rails out of gauge..? I had a train-master friend tell me that once.
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This could have been a lot worse. One life is bad, but thank goodness it did not derail. Any idea how fast she was going? It is sad about the driver. I am anal about stopping at tracks when I cross in my POV. Regardless of if there are gates or not. Train always wins.
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Seeing a photo of this nature reminds me much of a similar Amtrak vs Loaded Gravel Truck 9/9/04 near Gary, IN. The driver as well did not survive and the lead unit turned into a pure flat nose unit. Prayers go out to the crew whom had to witness such a tragic event right before them. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=78023&nseq=0
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| Posted by FSWood on August 5, 2013 | |
Given the laws of time and motion, I wonder if the only way have gotten the bulldozer across safely was to have had a spotter something like five miles up the track either side of the crossing to call if anything was coming.
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| Posted by FSWood on August 5, 2013 | |
Looking in Google for news stories found this important little detail, "The accident happened as the bulldozer operator attempted to cross the tracks on the north side of the highway. But due to a blind curve, the train came around a corner and collided with the bulldozer, knocking it over and causing considerable damage."
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The front wheels of the lead truck did derail in this collision, but everything else stayed on the rails. The latest report I have stated that the unit is still at this location and, among other repairs, both trucks have been completely replaced.
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Unit is gone, as of 9/6/2013. I had to drop off FRA paperwork for the unit and went inside to "check out the scene". The whole bottom of the floor underneath the engineer's seat was torn out. Both windshields were covered with a piece of steel, and idlers had been placed instead of traction motors. The original trucks were in place, though, contrary to what Mr. Becker says above me.
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