Amtrak smacking a semi at a grade crossing?

p51 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2005 12:36 am

I caught a ad for the local news last night of an Amtrak train going through what looked like a stalled semi truck at a grade crossing. It was a Superliner trainset, but the paint scheme is something I don't see here in the Pac NW.
Does anyone know where this was and how it happened? Was anyone hurt?

Rpobill · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 9:02 am **Posts:** 6

It was a Pacific Surfliner that hit a strawberry truck in Oxnard, California. Only minor injures and trailer of truck smashed. More info on trainorders.com

Bill

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2005 12:53 am

Check out the Amtrak section of TrainOrders.com or just about any TV newscast tonight; it happened at Oxnard, California. The truck supposedly had 18 or so tons of frozen strawberries. Plenty of links to video clips at TrainOrders. Apparently the videographers were taping evidence for a court case regarding crossing gate time at that very crossing; it was captured from both sides.

tim o'm · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2005 12:56 am

CBS Evening News carried the story on crossing safety. No one was hurt in the crash in Oxnard, CA. The truck carried frozen strawberries. The train was travelling 79 mph. Thrust behind the story was that the traffic lights were green across the tracks, indicating you could still go, regardless of the cross bucks and flashers at the crossing. It shows that towns and RRs don't work together on timing of lights to work with crossings. A convenience store owner set up cameras to show the dangerous intersection. All the experts from FRA and the town gave the impression that nothing could be done, which is how the news segment left it.

Finderskeepers · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:26 am

For all of you who wish to see the video, here is the link. There is no blood and guts and no-one was killed (thankfully). Just last night one of our crews hit a tractor trailer that had stalled on the tracks, loaded with aerosol cans, luckily there was no explosion.

[url]http://kcbs.dayport.com/viewer/content/special.php?Art_ID=5662&Format_ID=2&BitRate_ID=8&Contract_ID=2&Obj_ID=4
[/url]

Phil Mulligan · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:07 am **Posts:** 218

How do tractor-trailers stall on the tracks, but never in highway intersections?

Erik Ledbetter · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:49 pm

Folks--

a gentle, general, non-specific reminder from the management:

The Interchange is a forum for the discussion of subjects relating to railway preservation, railroad museums, and tourist railroads. Topics relating strictly to contemporary mainline railroading without a preservation aspect are really more appropriate for the many other good modern railfanning forums than they are for the Interchange; we'd like to keep this forum for the subject of preservation in all its forms.

Erik Ledbetter
Board Member and Associate Editor
RyPN