Chatsworth sadness

We had a horrible train accident in Chatsworth, California last Friday. The passenger train Amtrak carrying folks from Los Angeles to Ventura county where I live collided with a freight train going the opposite direction. I know exactly where it happened. For 6 years from 1972 to 1978 I lived less than 25 ft from the track carrying those trains and perhaps a half mile from the crash location.

My apartment was so close to the track behind us that when the freight trains like the one involved in the accident went by, the china in my kitchen would rattle. When I lived in the area (I was 29 when I moved there), it was still a ranch area and we would walk beside the track to exercise. Just beyond the accident point is Chatsworth park. Friends from the apartment building and I spent many Saturdays and Sundays there, having picnics, adventures climbing the hills to paint our initials on the rocks, sing alongs and just good old times. The entire area is still home to me. My first independence was in Chatworth and the memories of the area are still vivid in my mind. I can see the entire landscape, even though it's been 30 years. From the reporters' comments and the pictures of the site, I know exactly where the accident happened.

There is only one track. Near the park, there is a 200 ft siding along the track. When trains are running in both directions, one gets the red light just before the park to transfer onto the siding to let the oncoming train pass. The siding is just before a wide curve which leads into a long tunnel going under the mountains into the next valley. Supposedly the engineer of the passenger train missed the red light and kept going only to meet the oncoming freight train just leaving Chatsworth park head on. The results were horrific. Many people died and even more are severly injured. There have been close calls on this track before. There is no visibility coming out of the tunnel onto to the curve and the train going west towards the park can't see if anything is coming out of the tunnel because of the curve.

Having lived in Chatsworth when it was still a very small community, I share the sadness the local residents must be feeling. I pray for the survivors and the family and friends who lost loved ones. I also pray that somehow, something will be learned from this tragic incident to improve the safety. Surely in this day of electronics, there should be some way for the trains to communicate if not with each other then a central location which can inform each engineer what's oncoming. At least there should be some way to cause the engineer to pay better attention to the warning light Maybe it will be better late than never and something good will be gained to protect future train riders.