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FACTS
The Accident
About 9 a.m., c.s.t., on November 19, 1975, Amtrak turbotrain No. 301 was traveling southward at 71.5 mph toward the Manhattan Road grade crossing in Elwood, Illinois. The crew on the train's power car consisted of a fireman and engineer. The four fixed headlights on the front of the leading power car and the audible warning devices were in use.
The fireman was operating the train from the west side of the power car's cab. The engineer was seated at the east side of the cab. His view of the westbound approach to the track was obstructed by two private residences until the train was about 200 feet from the crossing. (See Figure 1.) When the train reached that point, the engineer saw a dump truck approaching from the east.
The truckdriver had been traveling west on Manhattan Road at 45 to 50 mph en route to deliver a load of hot asphalt to a location west of the track. He applied the truck's brakes and downshifted to accommodate a vehicle immediately ahead as it turned off the road. When that vehicle cleared the road, the truckdriver stated that he probably shifted to fourth gear and continued forward, accelerating slightly.
The driver said that he looked to his right during these movements and he could see part of the track, but did not see a train. He stated that he next saw the track about 600 feet east of the crossing. He did not notice the advance railroad warning sign which was on the right shoulder 630 feet east of the crossing.
He again saw the track about 300 feet from the crossing, when he could see through a narrow space between two private residences. Again, he claimed that he neither saw nor heard the approaching train. The driver did notice a railroad crossing warning on the pavement at that location.
The driver stated that he first saw the approaching train about 200 feet from the crossing when his truck passed the southwest corner of the residence nearest to the track. [See Figure 2.) He said, "I saw the train loom up above the brush along the track. I did not hear a horn at any time." He stated that the windows of the truck's cab were up, that the heater was on, that the radio was off, and that the noise within the cab was at the high level commonly found in vehicles of this type. An occupant of the residence nearest to the track heard the train horn and saw the truck pass her house almost simultaneously. The truckdriver estimated the speed of his truck at that point to be between 35 and 40 mph.
