The tribute reads like something that might be written for a rock star who died too soon: "We will never forget you. Let your warm-hearted soul RIP."
Those words, however, part of a YouTube video tribute, were written to a train engineer. They were written to Robert M. Sanchez, who was at the helm of the Metrolink train that slammed into an oncoming freight train in Chatsworth, killing 25 people, one week ago. And they were written by his fans, which is not as unusual as it sounds.
Earlier this week, investigators announced that Sanchez's cellphone records showed he had been text-messaging while on duty the day of the crash.
A group of local teens -- railroad enthusiasts, some of whom considered Sanchez something of a mentor -- are believed to have been on the other end of some of those messages.
In the days since the crash, the teens have gone largely into hiding, shielded mostly by their parents from a wave of media attention and public interest. In private, it is clear that they are crushed.
"It's just devastating," said Mark Speer, 53, a film editor who lives in Chatsworth and whose son, also named Mark, was part of the group of teen train enthusiasts.
The boys comprised a circle of friends who described themselves as dedicated "railfans" -- rail enthusiasts who often scoured the streets and hills to find choice spots for filming videos of passing trains, which they posted on the Internet, and who often participated in model railroad clubs.
Several were aspiring engineers, and they often rode the Metrolink out of Chatsworth -- the station that Metrolink 111 left before it crashed -- just for fun. They had developed extensive knowledge of the rails, including schedules and characteristics of certain trains. Recently, they got to know Sanchez, who apparently swapped information with some of the teens, communicating by text messages.
Rail officials say it's common for enthusiasts, particularly teenagers, to strike up friendships with engineers.
Most of these railfans were earnest, smart kids, still in middle school and high school, who, according to their Internet postings, liked Xbox and water polo, Kobe and Kanye. Today, they are connected by three things: an abiding love of trains; a sense that they are misunderstood and maligned by "railhaters" who mock their hobby; and anguish over the death of Sanchez and his passengers.
