Rev W Awdry it ain't.
A friend of mine works for Network Rail, having started back in the good old days with British Rail. For many years his responsibilities included tidying up after accidents, and what jolly stories he had to tell as a result. I think my favourite was ...

"A chap had committed suicide on the line. The police had done their bit, but the undertakers hadn't arrived, so we decided to move the bits off the tracks ourselves, cover them up, and start the trains running. I grabbed his arms and was moving the torso when I thought 'That's funny, it seems to be getting lighter'. So I looked down, and all his guts were falling out."

Interesting fact: when people stand in front of a high speed train, the acceleration when it hits is often so high that their shoes are left standing on a sleeper, exactly as they were at the moment of impact.
(ubergeekian, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 22:00, 9 replies)

what if
they were on tippey-toes?
( ferret -> twitter.com/syfyautocorrect <-, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 0:40, closed)

is this true for all types of footwear?

( real i'm not happy 'til you're not happy, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 7:37, closed)

True dat
The way i was told it is that when the human body is impacted your feet actually shrink and thus leave your shoes behind
(andythepieman Is surfing the waves of indifference on, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 9:23, closed)

Shrinking feet? That's ridiculous
Everybody knows that it's caused by the quick-release mechanism being accidentally activated. That's where seals come from, they're otters that have activated their mechanisms.
(Eukanuba, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 10:21, closed)

I like this

( skullfunkerry In case of implosion do not look into implosion, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 10:29, closed)

Well the shoes want to live on don't they
Apparently shoes have soles
(andythepieman Is surfing the waves of indifference on, Fri 6 Sep 2013, 14:55, closed)

This
is why replies should be able to win.
( social hand grenade I was a lurker before you were a lurker, Sat 7 Sep 2013, 19:27, closed)

I thought eukanuba's post about seals & otters was equally win-worthy

( skullfunkerry In case of implosion do not look into implosion, Mon 9 Sep 2013, 11:53, closed)

ta

(andythepieman Is surfing the waves of indifference on, Mon 9 Sep 2013, 12:32, closed)