Head on Collision in Texas

[GSkid]

One thing I forgot to mention....

On the same day and before I met those two sister railfans, I came across a very loving and touching situation.

When I first got to the loop that day to film for my YouTube channel, as I was going to take the long dirt trail that leads to the mountain bluff overlooking tunnel #10 to setup my camera there, I found an empty wheelchair near the road at the start of the trail. As I approached the bluff, I saw two guys sitting in low profile lawn chairs and a picnic blanket laid out with food and refreshments. One guy looked like he was around 50 years old and the other guy looked like he was in his 70s.

After briefly striking up a conversation with the younger guy, turns out the older guy was the guy's father. His father was a paraplegic and terminally ill. His dad was a railfan and that watching trains with his son at Tehachapi Loop one last time was on his bucket list. He literally carried his father in his arms down this long... and at times, steep dirt trail for several hundred yards to the bluff, just so his dad could get a better view of the trains. I offered to help him carry his dad back to the wheelchair, but he politely refused. He said he wanted to do it all by himself. He did allow me to help him haul the blanket and lawn chairs back though.

A very sad but sweet father-son moment.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

Would a full PTC implementation have prevented this?

AFAIK, PTC relies on GPS data to get the train's position. GPS has a minimum resolution that varies with reception conditions. This accident occurred on very flat and open plains.
Is PTC able to deduce if one of the trains is running on the wrong main in double track territory?

[BNSFdude]

Yes, if it worked it would have prevented it. However, PTC was deactivated on the line like everywhere else so they can actually move trains. PTC works 1 out of 5 times currently.