Train Blows Away Person: Is It True?

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A discussion revolves around whether a fast train traveling at 150 km/h with a flat-headed locomotive could blow a person away instead of hitting them directly. Some participants reference historical accounts, like the Great Train Robbery, to illustrate the effects of air resistance. The consensus leans towards skepticism, asserting that a person would not simply be blown away by the train's air displacement. The conversation also touches on the need for experimental evidence to explore this phenomenon further. Overall, the idea that a person could be blown away rather than struck is deemed unlikely.
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Is it true that a somewhat fast (say 150 km/h) train with a flat-headed locomotive pushes so much air in front of it that a person on the track would not (at first) be hit but blown away?
 
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Looks to me like a problem crying out for experimental evidence!
 
HallsofIvy said:
Looks to me like a problem crying out for experimental evidence!
Using a dummy of course. The difficulty might be in finding a flat headed train that can go 150 km/hr (about 90 mph)

AM
 
willkoh said:
Is it true that a somewhat fast (say 150 km/h) train with a flat-headed locomotive pushes so much air in front of it that a person on the track would not (at first) be hit but blown away?
What I DO know, is that the goy who did the Great Train Robbery (in the 1880's, I think), had seriously underestimated the air resistance when crawling on top of the train. He was almost, but not quite, blown off the train, and his clothes and face were drenched in soot.
All this from Michael Crichton's account of one of the most daring robberies done in history. :smile:
 
willkoh said:
Is it true that a somewhat fast (say 150 km/h) train with a flat-headed locomotive pushes so much air in front of it that a person on the track would not (at first) be hit but blown away?
No. It isn't. Buses are also flat-headed. Now think of the movie Final Destination
 
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Andrew Mason said:
Using a dummy of course. The difficulty might be in finding a flat headed train that can go 150 km/hr (about 90 mph)

AM
Well, he would have to be a dummy to volunteer!
 
Any experts in fluid mechanics here? i guess it would have to depend on the shape of the boundary layer.
 
HallsofIvy said:
Well, he would have to be a dummy to volunteer!

I have never seen this side of you Halls, :smile:
 

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