this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2026
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At 50 mph, it takes a fully loaded 150 car freight train over a mile to stop.
To further build on this, the train doesn't stop all at once either. The engine brakes and then every car starts braking from the front to the back of the train. That's why the train has to be organized so the heaviest cars are at the front and lightest are at the back. Otherwise the momentum of the still moving cars at the back will send a shockwave through all the couplings of the cars ahead to the stopped engine and shove them all forward.