I am guessing that the car with the green container was the stationary car.

At the bottom right corner of the first picture you can see where the lead unit on the train has run into the other train.  The two are sort of mashed together.

Switch was left open by switching crew that was tied up at plant. The car was loaded and stationary. Was not with another train.

Looks to me like the train ran into  a few heavy  parked cars and came to an abrupt stop derailing  just about everything. . 

All kinds of questions to come... Why was the switch lined, speed.  territory. Hope crews member are OK.  

From what I heard, the loaded car was standing alone. Between the speed of the train, and hitting a loaded stationary object and being in a curve. Pictures are very consistent with that.

Crew did not line switch back to main, when they left it.  It was in dark territory.

A little bit of snow and people loose their senses. 

Somebody did not line the switch?....not good for his career.

Well, at least there were not major injuries or fatalities.  

One thing to remember is that nobody leaves a main track switch lined toward standing cars on purpose.  It is, at its most basic, a mistake - a human failure.  In my experience, when one crew or individual has inadvertently left a "trap" for another train, nobody gets hateful after the dust settles.  They have all worked with each other in the past, will do so in the future, and all of them have forgotten to do something at one time or another.  Somebody will probably receive discipline, aimed at changing behaviors, rather than punishing.  It will have a reasonable component of pain for the offending employee(s) and an instructional purpose, as an example to all, of the importance of properly positioning and locking all -- and especially main track -- switches.

Except in the case of a third party switching. This will result in firings and a change in policy.

Leaving a main line  switch opened or running a stop signal is a serious offense.  The crew  members responsible  should be fired and if lucky might get back to work in a year or so.

 I'm old school and was taught to  never  leave a open  main line switch unattended.   If the crew member can't stay at the switch line it back  normal.  Another case of not enough crew members.

We don't know why the switch was open... Was another crew still switching or had they left and forgot about the switch? 

It only take one man to throw and line a switch. not enough on a crew, I do not buy that theory. Not properly trained and clubbing time, I will buy that in some cases. A matter of keeping focussed on your task at hand. Too many times we are guilty of getting ahead of ourselves and not double checking before releasing the track back to the dispatcher.

Just a question... Do main  line switches in dark territory still have targets on them?

Yes they do. 

Maxrailroad posted:

I am guessing that the car with the green container was the stationary car.

looks like the green container car was part of the stack train.....if it were the " stationary car" it would be closer to the engine derailment,and wouldnt still be upright.also from other photos i observed ,non of the immediate industries nearby used any containers in their sidings...-Jim

The hopper that was hit is upright and the engine is inside the first 1/4 of the car. It was loaded at the time of impact.

Would have PTC helped prevent this?

Yes it would have. If all the technology was perfected, and installed.