Train Buffs Killed in Fullerton

The Amtrak station in Fullerton is one of the most popular places in Southern California for train buffs to congregate. Every day about 100 trains pass through the station, including the scheduled AMTRAK and Metrolink trains, and dozens of Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight trains headed to or from the Port of Los Angeles. There are three tracks passing through the station - tracks one and three usually handle the passenger traffic with track two often handling massive high speed freight trains. There's very little separating the people on the platform from these huge trains as they pass through the station at speeds up to 50 mph.

It can be a dangerous place to be if you make the mistake of getting too near the tracks:

Authorities have identified the two men who were killed by a freight train Wednesday night as a father and son.

Virgil Lamphier, 56, and his son, David, 23, both of Fullerton, were train enthusiasts who were frequent visitors to the train tracks, said Fullerton police Sgt. Mike MacDonald.

“We think they were train spotters and watchers,” he said.

The accident was reported around 11:18 p.m. by an engineer on a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train who said there had been a possible accident involving two pedestrians, police said.

“The conductor saw two men near the tracks and sounded his horn to warn them, but it was too late,” MacDonald said.

Officers searched the tracks between the train station at 100 W. Santa Fe Ave. and Balcom Avenue. The bodies of the father and son were discovered about 30 minutes later east of the train station near Balcom and Commonwealth avenues, Fullerton police Lt. Craig Brower said.

The bodies of the father and son were found off the tracks, MacDonald said.

The train was traveling eastbound at 50 mph and came to a stop at Raymond Avenue and Valencia Drive, MacDonald said. The train was more than 7,200 feet long and weighed more than 5,900 tons, he said.

MacDonald said the father and son were walking home, which is about a mile from the tracks.

At just about any time of the day or night you'll find train buffs hanging out at the station. Some have cameras, some have scanners, but all love to watch the big trains rumble past.

I have also on occasion gone up to the station to watch the trains barrel through. This past summer, while the wife was in Hawaii, I went up there one night and shot some video. This will give you an idea of what goes on there:

I was there one time when two 7,000 foot freight trains came through the station side-by-side on the two tracks nearest the platform. They almost looked like they were racing, with the locomotives of one train only 30 feet or so ahead of the other. I will admit I took a couple steps back when they came through. The ground was shaking.

The Fullerton station is also a great place to eat. The Spaghetti Factory is now located in the old Union Pacific terminal just steps from the platform. We usually ride the Metrolink up there, eat dinner, hang out and watch the traffic awhile, and then ride back. It's a fun evening.

However, you've got to stay off the tracks.