KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - Two Chinese Americans holding PhD degree were killed by a freight train when walking on tracks in southeastern Pennsylvania.

He Fenjin, 51, and Lin Zuojun, 45, were struck and killed by the Chicago-bound train while walking by an abandoned Valley Forge National Historical Park train station and taking photos, apparently unaware of the coming train, said a local policeman on Saturday.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Dave Pidgeon said he doesn't know how fast the westbound train was traveling when it struck the pedestrians, but said the track speed is 50 mph.

Pidgeon said the train's two crew members weren't hurt.

He, who is from Nanhai county of South China's Guangdong province, runs a beancurd plant in Philadelphia and the Beijing-born Lin works at a local pharmaceutical factory. Both were amateur photographers of a local photography association.