I was told that it can take a fast, fully loaded (and presumably pretty damn long) freight train about a mile to stop. So, even after the conductor decides to hit the brakes, the train will still be moving for a while.
I like to use this example for visualization of “stop now, but continue paying for a time” situations like this one.
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 them all forward.
I was told that it can take a fast, fully loaded (and presumably pretty damn long) freight train about a mile to stop. So, even after the conductor decides to hit the brakes, the train will still be moving for a while.
I like to use this example for visualization of “stop now, but continue paying for a time” situations like this one.
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 them all forward.