I notice this detail in the article:

" ...the conductor told deputies he saw the car coming and sounded to horn, with no response from the driver. He tried to stop the train but wasn’t successful."


I am just wondering. Would this be possible if they had stopped and flagged?

Should be if you go by the rules. The flagger must be in direct communication with the engineer.

On a side note, sometimes it’s not so easy on the flaggers with all the distracted drivers out there. I can vouch for that by experience.

It's been too many years since I last rode with Harold, but my recollection is that the Chehalis dinner train goes farther than their regular (non-dinner) runs.

The regular runs go out to a passing track where the engine runs around the train. The dinner train run continues about 2 miles past the passing track to a bridge where it stops. It then backs to the passing track, where the engine runs around the train -- at least that's how it was done during my visits.

Looking at an online map, it appears that the collision happened at the grade crossing that is on the west end of the passing siding. During my visits, only the engine crossed the road on regular runs. On dinner train runs, the entire train pulled (and later backed) over the crossing.

When I was working as a conductor, we had two crossings that we stopped and flagged. In rare circumstances, we would have an employee who would drive ahead to the crossings concerned to allow the train to proceed directly. He would have proper flagging equipment as well as a radio and flash light to communicate with the engineer. These crossings were required to be flagged by special instruction due to obstructed view from the roadway.

As for the crossing in question, are there any visibility issues at that location? Depending on the developing situation, it might be better for the railroad to simply pay the doctor bills and buy the motorist a new truck than to go into litigation. That way they have some control over the total amount of the financial damage.

How far from the track was the train when the accident occurred ??? Just wondering...