Passenger Trains > 14 v fuel truck at Guadalupe

Word coming through is that train 14 struck a fuel truck at speed at Guadalupe CA. ALC42 347 was the lead. There appears to be damage to the loco and the truck is destroyed.
No doubt there will be intrepid reporters on the scene who will give more details. 

Link below, no fire, four photos.

https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/train-crashes-into-fuel-truck-south-of-guadalupe

UPDATE (5:38 p.m.) - The Santa Barbara County Fire Department reports that the driver of the fuel truck suffered major injuries in the crash. Three other people were also taken to the hospital with minor injuries.There were approximately 260 passengers on the train at the time of the collision. Firefighters are helping to evacuate people from the train. They will reportedly be taken to their destinations via bus.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/25 19:05 by TCnR.

Typical,,,,"private" crossing with a stop sign and crossbucks.   

considering that the lead tank on the double tanker truck was hit. either the driver didnt look at all, or, seems more likely, that the truck stalled on the crossing, giving the engineer some time to dump the air before impact.  That would account for no fire, and not as much damage to the lead train engine as one would expect at 60 mph, and no major injuries on the train cab. 

Id say that the train was doing 20-25 mph at time of impact and decellerating.



 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/25 22:24 by pdt.

Here's the accident.

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Does Union Pacific have any power sitting Guadalupe for Amtrak to use. Or San Luis Obispo.

usmc1401 Wrote:
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> Does Union Pacific have any power sitting
> Guadalupe for Amtrak to use. Or San Luis Obispo.

They keep a pair of helper units @ SLO for Cuesta assistance. Once they decontam the Starlight's trainset, I would think they'll drag it back to LA. If that tanker was full of gasoline instead of diesel, we'd be mourning casualties this evening. Hard not to get angry with these truck drivers. 

Itinerary Change: As of 6:37 PM PT, Due to extensive equipment damage, Train 14 is now canceled between San Luis Obispo (SLO) and Seattle (SEA). Customers onboard will be returned back to their points of origins via bus transportation. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

No helpers are based in SLO.  That practice ended several years ago.

espee51
Nick

Can't imagine what the crew was thinking as they were about to crash into a tanker truck...

espee51 Wrote:
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> No helpers are based in SLO.  That practice ended
> several years ago.

Huh, didn't notice that on past trips but just assumed they were there as always. Any idea why they were moved away? Lack of UP Coast Line traffic? 

There are currently no through freights on the Coast, the last being the oil can train that ran from Southern California to Wunpost (just above Paso Robles).  Helpers ended in SLO in 2019.

espee51
Nick

Agree, seeing a fuel tank out the front window is not a good thing. The news webpage link shows the lead locomotive in fairly good shape. Suspect gasoline or Avgas for the crop dusters would have been real bad, the article states the diesel was spread all over the train and the general site.

Probably a general rule about cleaning up the diesel on the sides of the train and possibly in the HVAC system or similar. Perhaps the brakes would be effected.

https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/train-crashes-into-fuel-truck-south-of-guadalupe

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espee51 Wrote:
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> There are currently no through freights on the
> Coast, the last being the oil can train that ran
> from Southern California to Wunpost (just above
> Paso Robles).  Helpers ended in SLO in 2019.

Wow, didn't realize there were no through freights anymore. So for all intents and purposes, UP is maintaining the Coast Line and Amtrak is the sole tenant? 

For the most part, yes.  There's the Guadalupe Hauler a couple times a week from Gemco to Guadalupe, and the Margarita Local once a week from Watsonville Jct. to Paso Robles.

espee51
Nick

mkancle Wrote:
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> Can't imagine what the crew was thinking as they
> were about to crash into a tanker truck...

I guess you've never been in a crash.   You brace for impact.   You just dont sit there and stare and think OMG, i never thought of the possibility of this happening.   Every engineer out there has had plenty of close calls, and time to think about what to do if these is a collision. 

espee51 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are currently no through freights on the
> Coast, the last being the oil can train that ran
> from Southern California to Wunpost (just above
> Paso Robles).  Helpers ended in SLO in 2019.
>
> espee51
> Nick

Yep the helpers ended when the Oil Cans quit running. 

You are one of the grumpiest old men out there, pdt. Yeah, I've never been in a locomotive going 70 miles an hour bearing down on a tanker full of flammable liquid. That's different than seeing a tree branch laying in front of you on the street. Sheesh, I wonder sometimes who peed in the wheaties of some of the people on here.
I'm glad the crew made it out safely.

mkancle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You are one of the grumpiest old men out there,
> pdt. Yeah, I've never been in a locomotive going
> 70 miles an hour bearing down on a tanker full of
> flammable liquid. That's different than seeing a
> tree branch laying in front of you on the street.
> Sheesh, I wonder sometimes who peed in the
> wheaties of some of the people on here.
> I'm glad the crew made it out safely.

Sorry, I just tend to jump on the "gee wilikers" crowd.   Sometimes you come off as if you just fell off he turnip truck.    I tend to like people who listen and learn. not ppl who tend to say what ever comes in their mind, without thinking 1st.   So we are different.  I'll try not to criticize so much...altho i have relatives who cannot stop constantly yapping about nothing....so I get a little testy at times.  I havent lived in New york for years....but I still have more of that "shit or get off the pot" attitude than i need, or so im told.  :)

            That should be ' 14 vs fuel truck ' instead of 14 v Fuel truck' .              Because - I thought you meant it was a 14 volt fuel truck.      VS is 'versus' you know - thr truck versus ( against ) the train.

Yahwellnofine. Whatever!