According to the NTSB report that was issued Oct. 2, the crash occurred at 2:08 a.m. July 14.

The collision was between a southbound Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, or DME, train and railcars that had been placed on a track on the west side of the Bettendorf rail yard by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe, or BNSF, crew.

Two Savannah, Ill., men were killed in the crash at 29th and State streets. One was the engineer, Joshua M. Osborn, 27, and the other was the train's conductor, Andrew Reed, 27. They were the only crew on board the DME train.

According to the NTSB report, a northbound BNSF freight train from Barstow, Ill., arrived at the Bettendorf yard about 12:15 a.m. to deliver 55 freight cars. After placing 18 freight cars on track 2, and 19 freight cars on track 3 on the west side of the Bettendorf yard, the BNSF train crew pulled back onto the main track and moved their locomotives and 18 remaining freight cars into a siding on the east side of the main track.

The BNSF train crew left both the switch from the main track to the west side of the yard and the switch to the siding track on the east side of the yard in the open position aligned away from the main track.

The BNSF train crew then released track authority to the DME train dispatcher by radio. The dispatcher then told the DME train to use the main track to travel from Bettendorf to Nahant, Iowa.

The southbound DME train that had been stopped outside the Bettendorf yard moved along the main track at a speed of 25 mph. The switch from the main track to the east siding was realigned by remote control by the DME train crew so that the train could pass through on the main track.

The switch from the main track to the west Bettendorf yard was a manual switch only and it remained open to the west side yard tracks.

The open switch from the main track into the west side yard routed the DME train to where it struck the rail cars sitting on track 3 in the Bettendorf yard.

Why the switch to the west side yard was left open and who was responsible for closing it were not discussed in the NTSB report.

Representatives from the NTSB, as well as the BNSF and DME railroads, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.