OPRRMS Wrote:

> The download from the cab car indicates that the
> engineer did not initiate an Emergency
> application, and had accelerated away from the
> station stop reaching a speed of 50-52 MPH when
> approaching the signal at CP Topanga, which is
> about 1.1 mile from the station, before making a
> throttle reduction to reduce the speed to 40 for
> the climb up the pass. Speed at impact shows to
> be 42. Thus, it appears he was operating the
> train as if he were receiving Clear signals.

From that I conclude the engineer was not incapacitated, at least for the first minute or two after leaving the station. Whether he actually SAW a clear signal at CP Topanga, THOUGHT (mistakenly) he saw a clear signal, behaved AS IF he received a clear signal because that was the usual case there, or was DISTRACTED (by his cell phone, an angry wasp, or something else) and did not observe the signal aspect at all - these are the remaining explanations for his failure to initiate an emergency stop.

We will probably never know which of those happened, but my hunch is cell phone distraction. I don't own a cell phone or use one for text messages, but I'm aware of how easy it is to start typing a "short" message (like this one) and not realize how many minutes it takes sometimes to finish.

Best regards to all.