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It depends on the speed of the train and the way it hits you. In any case being hit by a 250 ton composition, even moving at less than 10 mph is NOT a thing you get away with.

If you are hit by the side of the locomotive (e.g. youhave been just about to step on the tracks) your chances of survival are better, because the locomotive would throw you aside. However, you will be so mangled that you'd probably prefer being dead. Additional trauma may ensue when hitting the ground. Note that being hit by the side of the locomotive DOES NOT mean you're going to live!

If you get hit head-on, the locomotive would throw you away, and then go over your body as soon as it hits the ground. Since the clearance of the train is not enough for a human body to fit, you would still be turned into a pulp -- if not by the locomotive itself, then by the drawbars of the cars and/or pneumatic brake hoses underneath.

Bear in mind that a fully laden train weighs over 250 tones (500 000 pounds), and has a brake distance of nearly half a mile when traveling at, say, 35 mph (which is VERY slow for a train). At a normal speed it takes a lot more.

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10y ago

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