In a report detailing the wreck, the agency said that the two-man crew, conductor Robert B. Calhoun and engineer Stephen Shaben, probably were fatigued and affected by untreated health problems when they missed a stop signal and crashed into the BNSF train.

"The engineer's and conductor's respective health conditions, in combination with irregular work schedules, contributed to the accident," the report said.

Representatives from neither rail company could be reached Friday.

At around 7:40 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2003, the northbound UP train, which was traveling at 49 mph and consisted of three locomotives and 90 empty freight cars, sideswiped the BNSF train, which was traveling at 31 mph and included three locomotives and 32 loaded cars. Five BNSF cars came off the tracks, as did all three UP locomotives and 15 of its cars.

The wreck injured Calhoun and Shaben, who were both 60 years old at the time, but the report did not describe the extent of their injuries. In 2003, the Daily News reported that Schaben suffered multiple scrapes and bruises and was treated at St. John Medical Center. Calhoun's spinal injuries were more severe, and he was treated at Oregon Health & Science University.

About 2,800 gallons of fuel spilled from the UP locomotives' fuel tanks, the report said. The damage totaled $2.7 million.

The trains had been running on separate tracks, but they collided at a switch in an area known as the Longview South Junction near Carrolls. Investigators said the UP crew roared past a stop signal. Calhoun told investigators that "he did not remember seeing the BNSF train until the collision occurred."

"The crew members' failure to recognize the impending collision suggests they were probably asleep," the report said.

Investigators noted that Shaben's medical records showed he had been diagnosed with "moderate to severe" obstructive sleep apnea, a temporary cessation of breathing during sleep that can cause fatigue during waking hours.

Apnea patients often wear a mask during sleep that forces air into the throat and keeps breathing steady.

However, investigators said Shaben had experienced "a phobic reaction" to the mask. The device was never properly adjusted, and he did not use the therapy a day before the accident, according to the report.

Investigators suggested that Shaben's sleep disorder was "not effectively treated" and, as a result, he simply had not gotten enough sleep.

The NTSB also noted that Calhoun had complained to his doctor several times about fatigue and was having trouble sleeping.

"Based on the train crew's actions, it is likely that neither employee was alert when passing the approach signal," the report said.

In addition, the NTSB, which has long championed a technology known as Positive Train Control, noted that the absence of such devices contributed to the wreck.

The technology uses satellites to monitor trains and engages brakes automatically if they get too close together.

Rail companies have experimented with the devices, but have said the technology is not yet ready to be implemented on a wide scale.

NTSB recommended the technology in its report on a collision, also between UP and BNSF trains, that killed five crewmen in almost the same spot 10 years earlier.

The NTSB often takes more than a year to complete accident investigations, a spokeswoman for the agency said. Officials recently predicted that the NTSB's report on the 2003 crash would not be completed until fall, but they apparently overestimated the time it would take to finalize their conclusions.
 
(The preceding Article By Tony Lystral was originally published by the The Daily News on June 11, 2005.)