It's double-tracked from Clovis (NM) to Waynoka (OK).
So, presumably, one track was shut down for maintenance. But isn't that situation usually a reason for heightened awareness on the part of dispatcher and crew?
Moreover, the 60-mile stretch from Pampa to Amarillo (Panhandle is about midway) is straight as a string. And it's mostly flat as a pancake.
The only way they couldn't have seen each other coming is if they met at the top of a slight rise in elevation.
Somebody really had to work at making this one happen...
Well yes, I would have thought both would have been warned... but again there would have been a signal, too, well before they were to meet. Modern dispatching software enforces this rule; you have to have your signals set up right before you can tell the crew that they can move the train.
“... Jim you better jump, ‘cause there’re two locomotives that are going to bump!” — Casey Jones
“Joe, don’t worry, that other train is supposed to go to siding”
“Moe, don’t worry, that other train is supposed to go to siding”
“CRASH”