Based on what I've learned from reading up on PTC it will reduce verbal radio communications and will reduce the human element of railroading even more. Less crew interaction with their machines and probably less crew members. Somehow a engineer reduced to a locomotive babysitter just doesn't seem very exciting and probably won't pan out well in photographs.

In the last year I've seen BNSF and UP put up those ugly PTC antennas at crossovers and turnouts at an incredible rate. At least UP's are mounted atop a wooden pole but it still is very visually distracting at many locations I've seen. Coupled with aluminum and plastic hooded traffic light signals, I've seen many excellent photo locations totally ruined overnight. Sadly, in the next year or so, the only searchlights left in the Bay Area will be on the NWP, Caltrain and a handful of seldom used UP secondary lines.