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I saw Back to the Future 3 last night(for about the millionth time) and once again saw the train hit the time machine, and once again I noticed the train just keep on going. Should trains stop after they hit a car?
Another movie I saw this in was in a crappy movie called Final Destination. The train is barreling down on a stalled car in the middle of the tracks, a guy is stuck in the Car, and another person is helping him. The train slows down about 2 MPH(even though it saw the car a mile away) then hits the car and keeps on going. I ask again, Shouldn't that train stop after it hits the car?
Has anyone seen any other movies where this happens?
yummykaz Member # 475
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From what I have read, the velocity at which a train travels makes stopping like that impossible.
I also read a car and a train can be comapered to a car hitting an empty can of soda.
But really, the movie would not be exciting if the train stopped and a grief stricken engineer got off the train.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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A freight train takes about a mile to come to a stop. By then its out of camera range.
George Harris Member # 2077
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Of course in a real collision the train stops. Chances are the brakes are already in emergency by the time of collission. It is just by the time the train gets stopped it is usually well beyond the crash point.
Remember it is a movie. It is fiction, synonomous with FAKE, FALSE, phoney, not real imaginary, etc., and in a lot of recent movies with a large dose of physically impossible thrown in. Not everything catches fire or explodes in real life, either.
Yummy, you hit it right on the engineer. It is nightmare for those that have to live with it. The fact that they could do nothing to prevent it does not cure the hurt.
yummykaz Member # 475
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George the reason I know this: I saw an amazing show or documentary...on like the History or discovery.. Covered the lives of engineers that had , had an accident or collision with a car. One poor guy, had a double ...right after he was in all the counseling and got back on, he had another wreck. Sad sad...and then they covered families of engineers ( dad was engineer and then son was..)and all had their own crash stories...so sad
Lee, Wonyoung Member # 2464
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It is real horrible thing to hit someone even though you know you will hit the person.
Here is someone's story.
" I don't think I'll ever forget" one engineer, recently involved in an accident stated. It's a memory he clearly seems to be hoping will fade. Things have changed for him since the accident. For one, he has resumed a habit from ten years ago of menthol cigarettes. And his large frame, which often would shake with laughter, in now infected with discomfort. He is uneasy now, he says, and feels as if he is constantly watching everthing. His wife says he can't sit still, but can't find anything to do either.
The train was headed south. A boy in a white T-shirt and baggy pants and sneakers was walking near the tracks and in the same direction as the train, along the easement in front of the locomotive. He sounded the bell and whistle. "Then, he just laid his head on the rail, face up, and.....boom". He doesn't understand what could be horrible enough to make a 16-year-old opt for death, but he went home and sat down with his 19-year-old son, his youngest, and told him if there were ever anything wrong, he could come to him. They(counselors) say you're supposed to talk about it," he says. He doesn't want to talk. " I did everything in my power that I could have done." He is trying, in his own way to get past it. He's now back on the train, on the same route, railroading through the knots in his stomach. "Yes, it hurts. Yes, it's tragic. Yes, I felt a lot of pain" he says. "But I have an obligation due to my family. I can't walk away." He sighs, and almost whispers: "It is going to be with me for a long time."
UncleBuck44 Member # 2049
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I know in Back to the future the train never stopped. You can see it never stopped.
George Harris Member # 2077
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The difference between movies and reality.
Sheriff Member # 2521
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Here is a direct quote from my book, "A Conductor Tells...Unauthorized Train Stories," www.trainstories.net.
Chapter 14, page 140: "Those who pick the trains to end their lives don't understand it's not just their families who suffer but also the railroad employee and his or her family suffers. The railroad employees are the one who have to deal with your death when they go home at night. We are the ones who see that last look of desperation in your eyes just before impact. We are the ones who have to go back after the train has stopped and try to find all the body parts that are scattered all over the railroad tracks. We are the ones who have to deal with it when we go home at night. Many years ago we only had each other to talk to when we were unfortunate enough to have killed someone on the railroad tracks. We do have some assistance now from an organization called the Employees Assistance Program (EAP). It is very traumatic for the Engineer and Conductor when we have a fatality on the tracks. The EAP is good about contacting us at home within 24 hours after the incident to check on our mental condition. Some employees handle the deaths better than others. The Railroad carriers are real good about letting us have a couple of days off to regroup and clear our minds of the tragic event after these incidents. When we go to work everyday we have to be 100% focused on what we are doing because we have a very dangerous job. The railroads have always been concerned about our mental state of mind and want us to be at our best. They want us to come back to work as soon as possible but they also want us to be mentally alert. It's like the old saying, "If you fall off the horse you have to get up, dust yourself off, and get back on the horse.” The EAP is a private organization, which helps us to get counseling when we have a hard time coping with the fatalities we experience while on duty."
[This message has been edited by Sheriff (edited 03-11-2004).]
[This message has been edited by Sheriff (edited 03-11-2004).]
MPALMER Member # 125
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Future movies like the ones Uncle Buck mentioned will likely continue to show fantasy (bogus nonsense) and ignore the reality of the traumatized train crew.
Some years ago there was a TV commercial (for cars or tires or shocks -- don't remember) that showed a car zipping across a grade crossing right before a train came through. There was enough pressure from either a safety organization or someone else to get the commercial taken off the air. Too many impressionable folks out there would try to duplicate what happened in the commercial.
Sheriff Member # 2521
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MPalmer, Yes they will and yes they do. These kids don't need any encouragement to do something stupid.
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