There are a lot of pranksters out there. That’s not what we expected when this incident surfaced. How could anyone survive in a Tesla that gets hit by a train, and is still able to drive away? Our skepticism and curiosity meant we had to see the video.
Train vs Tesla | Instagram
As you can see, it’s all smoke and mirrors. The Tesla Model S pulls up to the tracks and as the train gets to it, the Tesla transforms. It becomes a flat piece of board with a Tesla pasted over it. The board hits the tracks, the train runs it over, and then the board pops back up.
Keep your eyes on the Tesla
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Immediately, it becomes three-dimensional again and drives away. Clever editing pulled this off. That, and a sly sense of humor. We’re sure you’ve seen similar “incidents” on the web. There are some great editing tools out there.
To that end, there is SmashChan or Smash Channel on YouTube. If you’re up for train vs car crashes, but simulated not real, then this might be for you. Trucks, busses, cars, everything, and anything loses when the choo-choo comes around the bend. The simulations are pretty good and have from 14 million to over 20 million views defending on which video you choose.
A different kind of train vs car video
More simulated train vs car mayhem comes from Beaming-Fun. Same succession of snippets as with SmashChan, with equally good effects. You never forget these are simulations, but the endings will sometimes surprise you.
For a reenactment of a tragic runaway train derailment that happened in 1989 in San Bernardino, California, there is this video. But if your tastes run more for real life, there is a documentary about the accident. The train lost control, crashing into a residential neighborhood. It was followed a week later by a broken underground gasoline pipeline explosion while cleanup was ongoing from the derailment. Between the two tragic accidents, six people lost their lives.
You can see both train disaster reenactments, or the real thing
If reenactments of train derailments are your thing, there is a two-fer on the 1939 crash of the “City of San Francisco” passenger train, and the 1995 derailment in Palo Verde, in the Nevada desert. The reason they are paired is that both were the result of the tracks being sabotaged, and also because the cases have never been solved.
Finally, if you’re into vintage locomotives, there are a number of documentaries about the restoration of “Big Boy,” the world’s largest operating steam engine train. Union Pacific restored the train after sitting for decades in the Pomona Fairplex parking lot outside of Los Angeles. It has been documented well, including this video of its first trek out of the yard and onto the main line in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
This post didn’t start out to be about trains, but that’s how we’ll end it. You can get lost in all of the content on YouTube.
Keyword: Watch: Tesla Drives Away After Being ‘Run Over’ By Train