Pet Peeves

[nobody]

I find it annoying that in movies and on TV, when a train hits a car or something, it usually just keeps going. I assume that's not what would happen in real life.

It happens. I think for a small car to derail a train it has to be the right circumstances, like on a curve or if part of the car somehow rolls under the train. A similar question answered by a train engineer shows some stuff that he's hit or run over on a train:

How much of an obstruction does it take to derail a train?
Quite a bit of an obstruction, I have ran over trees, animals, and vehicles on the track without derailing the train. Most of the derailments I have been involved in were caused by ice and snow, track defects like broken rails, switch points not properly fitting against the stock rail, cross level track, and the others were caused by wheel defects, or other equipment failure.

Trains being so heavy, with so much momentum when rolling down the track tend to push any obstruction out of the way instead of derailing.

Another rail person stated this:

Can a car or truck derail a train?
The simple answer is yes and the complicated answer is yes if… If the vehicle is in a particular place and gets hit by the train, such as a curve or gradient, the front bogies (the axles are attached to bogies) will lift up and leave the rail momentum will do the rest. Even if the initial impact pushes the vehicle under the train it will roll once again causing the bogies lift. Only if the train hits a vehicle and pushes it out of its path or splits it will it not derail, but once it goes under then odds are it will derail. Even a herd of animals going under can cause a train to derail.

Finally another rail employee from the UK said:

Can a car or truck derail a train?
Short answer is yes. . A few years ago, a HST(high speed train) hit a car left deliberately on a Automatic half barrier crossing, on the Great western main line. The Train driver died and there were injuries to passengers. Another time, one of my company colleagues got involved with another train hitting a car that had gone off the road because the car driver fell asleep. The passenger train ploughed into it, and the freight train hit the wreckage, killing the driver.



It's silly that movies and tv shows never show a train damaged or derailed by a train, but I'm guessing it's because of expenses, story, and trying to get it into people's heads not to stop on tracks like morons.

 

[Runwildboys]

It happens. I think for a small car to derail a train it has to be the right circumstances, like on a curve or if part of the car somehow rolls under the train. A similar question answered by a train engineer shows some stuff that he's hit or run over on a train:

How much of an obstruction does it take to derail a train?
Quite a bit of an obstruction, I have ran over trees, animals, and vehicles on the track without derailing the train. Most of the derailments I have been involved in were caused by ice and snow, track defects like broken rails, switch points not properly fitting against the stock rail, cross level track, and the others were caused by wheel defects, or other equipment failure.

Trains being so heavy, with so much momentum when rolling down the track tend to push any obstruction out of the way instead of derailing.

Another rail person stated this:

Can a car or truck derail a train?
The simple answer is yes and the complicated answer is yes if… If the vehicle is in a particular place and gets hit by the train, such as a curve or gradient, the front bogies (the axles are attached to bogies) will lift up and leave the rail momentum will do the rest. Even if the initial impact pushes the vehicle under the train it will roll once again causing the bogies lift. Only if the train hits a vehicle and pushes it out of its path or splits it will it not derail, but once it goes under then odds are it will derail. Even a herd of animals going under can cause a train to derail.

Finally another rail employee from the UK said:

Can a car or truck derail a train?
Short answer is yes. . A few years ago, a HST(high speed train) hit a car left deliberately on a Automatic half barrier crossing, on the Great western main line. The Train driver died and there were injuries to passengers. Another time, one of my company colleagues got involved with another train hitting a car that had gone off the road because the car driver fell asleep. The passenger train ploughed into it, and the freight train hit the wreckage, killing the driver.



It's silly that movies and tv shows never show a train damaged or derailed by a train, but I'm guessing it's because of expenses, story, and trying to get it into people's heads not to stop on tracks like morons.

I just meant that they never show any indication of the train stopping after killing someone. I know it takes a long distance to stop, but I imagine they're required to, and you'd probably hear the brakes being applied.

 

[nobody]

I just meant that they never show any indication of the train stopping after killing someone. I know it takes a long distance to stop, but I imagine they're required to, and you'd probably hear the brakes being applied.

Yeah, it's silly in shows you don't hear them breaking and they keep going. It's like the engineer is asleep. Then again, maybe the engineer is just texting. That's what caused one train collision.

 

[Runwildboys]

@nobody reminded me of another thing that bothers me, which is the portrayal of big rigs being practically indestructible. Movies such as Smokey and the Bandit show them crash through cars and such with hardly a hint of damage.

I can tell you, that's way off. I hit a deer once, and it bent my bumper all the back to my tire. I've seen guys slowly roll into a snowbank and bend their bumper. The hood and fenders are fiberglass, and hitting something like a car would utterly destroy them.

 

[nobody]

@nobody reminded me of another thing that bothers me, which is the portrayal of big rigs being practically indestructible. Movies such as Smokey and the Bandit show them crash through cars and such with hardly a hint of damage.

I can tell you, that's way off. I hit a deer once, and it bent my bumper all the back to my tire. I've seen guys slowly roll into a snowbank and bend their bumper. The hood and fenders are fiberglass, and hitting something like a car would utterly destroy them.

Unless it was that Knight Rider two-parter where it had Goliath, the big rig that was treated with the stuff that made K.I.T.T. indestructible. That one gets a pass.

 

[Runwildboys]

Unless it was that Knight Rider two-parter where it had Goliath, the big rig that was treated with the stuff that made K.I.T.T. indestructible. That one gets a pass.

And maybe Optimus Prime

 

[nobody]

And maybe Optimus Prime

That makes me wonder, do you think some states required the Autobots to have auto insurance?

 

[Runwildboys]

That makes me wonder, do you think some states required the Autobots to have auto insurance?

Liability, certainly, but in the Midwest states, only when they're in automobile form.

 

[LonnieElam]

I hate when I'm eating, and someone comes up behind me and says, "what are you eating?" Take a look; it's literally right in front of your face. That annoys me way more than it should.