Photography student Richard L. Walls, 65, died Monday, Nov. 29, after he was hit by a train west of Bingen, Wash.
Witnesses reported seeing Walls walking down the center of the tracks carrying a camera and tripod when the train emerged from a tunnel at approximately 50 mph about 200 yards away. The Burlington Northern freight train sounded its horn, but Walls appeared not to notice.
Skamania County Under-sheriff Dave Cox said the wind and topography along the Columbia River Gorge may have masked the sound of the horn.
“The acoustics of the gorge really seem to muffle train noise, especially if the wind is blowing,” said Cox. “You just don’t hear these things coming when you’re right on the tracks.”
Walls was born June 18, 1939, in Bigfork, Minn. He was a mechanical engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers and lived in Portland from ‘87 to ‘96.
Survivors include his partner, Judith Smith; his four daughters, Kelly Walls, Shannon Baily, Jana Hardies and Hallie Swartzbacker; his stepdaughter, Nanette Kroft; sister, Phyllis Hollowell; and eight grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2004, in The Dalles.