toledoblade.com --

CLARKSTON, Mich. - Two railroad crewmen were killed and two others hurt seriously yesterday when two Canadian National-Illinois Central freight trains collided near here before dawn.

A half-mile radius around the site was evacuated for five hours, and two schools canceled classes before authorities determined that hazardous cargoes on board one of the trains were not involved in the wreck. Spilled diesel fuel fed a fire that burned intensely immediately after the accident.

The cause of the crash was unknown. Although FBI agents came to the scene, Canadian National spokesman Peter Marshall said: "We don't have any indication of anything unnatural or sabotage."

Thomas Landris, 49, of Durand, Mich., an engineer, and Gary Chase, 58, of Owosso, Mich., a conductor, were killed. Mr. Landris worked for Canadian National for 20 years, and Mr. Chase was a 32-year employee, said Jack Burke, another spokesman for the railroad.

Allen Yash, an engineer from Fenton, Mich., and Jesse Enriquez, a conductor from Detroit, were hospitalized, Mr. Burke said. Their ages were unavailable. No one else was hurt.

The 5:55 a.m. collision, just east of the Oakland County hamlet of Andersonville and 10 miles northwest of Pontiac, occurred at one end of a siding that allows one train to wait for another to pass.

A train hauling automobile carriers and other freight from Flat Rock to Flint, Mich., was traveling northwest on the main track, while a train hauling shipping containers was traveling southeast toward Detroit and occupied the side track.

The investigation is likely to hinge on determining whether the Detroit-bound train failed to stop before reaching the point at which the side track converged with the main line - and if so, why.

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to the site to investigate. Safety board investigators work in teams with railroad, public safety, and employee representatives. They divide their work on such specific areas as track and signal function, train equipment, and human performance. When appropriate, they enlist others with specific expertise.

The crash area is dotted with woods, swamps, and farms. Heavy rain had fallen overnight, and there were reports of dense fog at the time of the crash.

Investigators will be looking into the possibility that the Detroit-bound train's crew could not see the end of the siding in the gloom and overshot their stopping point.

Another possibility is that thunderstorms caused the signal system governing train movements through the area to malfunction. Signal systems, in general, are designed to display red lights if any of their components fail.

Mr. Burke declined to comment on possible causes.

About 20 freight trains a day use the tracks through Andersonville, which are officially owned by a CN-IC subsidiary, Grand Trunk Corp. The same line has passenger trains between Pontiac and Detroit, but no passenger service beyond Pontiac.

Dense fog was cited as a critical factor in a three-train collision near Bryan in January, 1999, that killed two Conrail crewmen. In that case, a westbound train struck the rear of a slower-moving train, and wreckage struck an eastbound train passing on a parallel track.

A National Transportation Safety Board report about the Bryan crash, issued in May, faulted the two crewmen who died for failing to observe track-side signals. That report reiterated the safety board's call for advanced control systems on main-line tracks that could automatically stop trains to prevent collisions.

Such "positive train control" has been listed by the NTSB as a "most wanted" rail safety improvement since 1990.

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