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6[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/SupermanForAllSeasons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trainsquashing.jpg]]]]
7[[caption-width-right:300:More powerful than a locomotive.]]
8
9->''"If a train traveling at 250 miles per hour is stopped dead, the passengers will continue to travel at that speed (that is, double their terminal velocity). In other words, unless you stop the train slowly, they will have more chance of surviving if you had dropped them out of an airplane without a parachute. A safe stopping distance is several miles."''
10-->-- ''The Superhero Handbook'' by Michael Powell
11
12Maybe [[RunawayTrain a train is out of control,]] maybe a train is approaching a destroyed bridge, maybe someone is [[ChainedToARailway is chained to the tracks]], maybe a villain is trying to [[TrainEscape escape via a train]], or perhaps an [[TraintopBattle action sequence involving trains]] is going out of control.
13
14It's up to a {{Superhero}} to stop it!
15
16This trope is usually used because it doesn't need a supervillain (although sometimes one does exist to derail the train). It shows, thus, that the superhero does more than [[ReedRichardsIsUseless just fight useless battles against supervillains]], actually providing a visible good to society outside of his own rivalries.
17
18In addition, it allows the hero to showcase his SuperStrength or NighInvulnerability, and to save the lives of innocent people. It's also a good method of comparing heroes' relative power levels or gimmicks/gadgets. ComicBook/{{Superman}} just holds the train until it stops, while ComicBook/SpiderMan has to use webs attached to lampposts. So, stopping the train is almost like a graduation for a super hero. A bit like TheWorfEffect, except Worf is a train. You're a nobody unless you can stop a large moving vehicle.
19
20Used more in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, when trains were a popular means of transportation in the US (where most {{Superhero}} stories come from), but still alive today. One could put on a [[WildMassGuessing tinfoil hat]] to mention that, if not for the supers, there would be a lot of train crashes, and it seems the train regulation committee [[NoOSHACompliance forgot OSHA Compliance]] when they noticed [[HoldingOutForAHero some dude in a cape]] always appeared to save the passengers. For more modern takes on the trope, a [[ComingInHot crashing airplane]] or [[ReentryScare re-entering spacecraft]] work just as well.
21
22Oh, also, sometimes there's just [[TrackTrouble a hole in the bridge]] for the hero to fix. He'll usually put himself between the extremities and "act" as the missing rails.
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24See also ChainedToARailway, RailroadTracksOfDoom, PedestrianCrushesCar, & {{Superhero}}. Do not confuse with ''Literature/{{Trainspotting}}'', which, yes, this trope's name is a pun on.
25
26One of the many methods for CuttingTheKnot, as noted on the page.
27
28----
29!!Examples:
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31[[foldercontrol]]
32
33[[folder:Advertising]]
34* In a radio ad for [=SoBe=] Power energy drinks, the narrator proposes the listener might feel strong already, but they want to feel stronger. Strong enough to stop a train, in case of an emergency, or in case [[ChainedToARailway a pretty girl is tied to the track]], and to impress her, the listener could stop the train with only one hand.
35[[/folder]]
36
37[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
38* Multiple episodes of ''Literature/{{Anpanman}}'' have had Anpanman and some of his other superhero friends save SL-Man, a living steam locomotive, this way.
39* ''Anime/DinosaurKing'': {{Averted|Trope}} in the episode "Planes, Trains and Dinosaurs". Going after a specific person on the Trans-Siberian Railway, Seth sends out Tank the Ankylosaurus to stop the train. He calls her back at the last second when he realizes it wouldn't work.
40* In ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', Kenshiro stopped Gyoko's train to save the villagers by ''[[PedestrianCrushesCar breaking it with one hand]]''. Obviously, the rider's safety wasn't his concern.
41* In ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'', the 21st Chojin Olympics had Train ''Pushing'' as one of the qualifier events. However, when Terryman sees a puppy has wandered into the path of his train, he immediately gets ahead of the train and stops it. Unfortunately, because the qualifier had rules about touching the train more than once, the act of heroism gets Terryman disqualified from the games.
42* In ''Manga/OnePiece'' Franky [[SubvertedTrope tries]] to do this in order to rescue Tom, but he fails. [[MadeOfIron He manages to live, though.]]
43* Near the end of the ''Gold/Silver/Crystal'' arc of ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', [[spoiler:Red makes his BigDamnHeroes return by calling out Snorlax]] to forcibly slow the runaway Magnet Train down to a stop before it crashes into a deadend.
44* In ''Anime/PrettyCureAllStars New Stage'', Fusion launches a tanker boat down a railroad-like ramp. The ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' and ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' teams stop it, but barely... until Fusion swats them aside and sends it flying. Waiting at the bottom? [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure Cure Black, Cure White and Shiny Luminous]], who stop it ''effortlessly''.
45* ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'':
46** The opening scene of the third season, ''GX'', features the protagonists launching themselves onto a crashing space shuttle and using their PoweredArmor's thrusters to slow its re-entry speed. This culminates in [[MoreDakka Chris]] opening a path for the shuttle by blasting through a mountain, [[EverythingsBetterWithSamurai Tsubasa]] mounting a {{BFS}} in front of it as a cowcatcher, and [[BareFistedMonk Hibiki]] bringing the vehicle to a halt by ''suplexing'' it.
47** The fourth season, ''AXZ'', features a fight in an airport where [[SinisterScythe Kirika]] and [[DeadlyDisc Shirabe]] hold onto the underside of a damaged plane and fuse their {{Morph Weapon}}s into an improvised landing gear.
48* In the ''Literature/UnbreakableMachineDoll'', the two main characters pull this off in the first chapter.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Comic Books]]
52* In ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' volume 1, issue 1, the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] is tricked into destroying a train trestle. As a result he has to hold the tracks up so a train can pass safely.
53* Horribly deconstructed in ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' using a plane. A corporate band of superheroes are sent to rescue the last 9/11 plane (in this verse, the CIA's warnings were heeded, and the other three planes were shot down by the Air Force). It starts to go downhill when they can't hear each other over the wind, then they open the door and a kid gets sucked out. Then the super who was supposed to pilot the plane falls out. It ends with the supers cutting their way out through the ''passengers'' in their desperation to get out (when asked why he doesn't hold up the plane, the Homelander replies that there's nothing for him to push against). And just to top it all off, the plane still crashes... into the Brooklyn Bridge instead of the WTC.
54* Big Bertha of the ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers is shown doing this with a runaway semi. While the kids are happy to not die, the crossing guard laments being saved by such an unsexy superhero.
55* ComicBook/GreenLantern's first appearance.
56* In a 1902 strip of ''Hugo Hercules'', the eponymous character uses his Super Strength to stop a street car so a woman can get on.
57* The Brubaker & Fraction run on ''ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist'' culminates with Danny Rand punching a bullet train loaded with explosives.
58* Featured prominently on the cover of the April 1979 issue of ''Shogun Warriors'', where TrackTrouble has caused Combatra to pause a fight with Rok-Korr in order to catch the first car of the train before it falls into a ravine. (Passengers are still shown tumbling out of the open doors of the train car.)
59* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': A miniseries called: ''Spider-Man: Power of Terror'' introduced a new ComicBook/{{Deathlok}} character (Deathlok is a LegacyCharacter of [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Zombie]] {{Cyborg}}s) that at one point was chasing [[MakingASplash Hydro-Man]] down the subway system, and he met up with a metro train about to ram in another one. He stopped it in a splash page, cementing his level of strength for the book.
60* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':
61** In ''ComicBook/SupermanFamily'' #217, Supergirl [[https://maidofmight.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/superman-family-217_01.jpg stops a train without needing to break it]].
62** Subverted in ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Supergirl vol. 5]]'' #18. Kara stops a train but it breaks in half and derails upon crashing onto her indestructible body. Kara has a breakdown but she calms down -a bit- when she discovers that it was an illusion.
63* Franchise/{{Superman}} loves it, and was probably the TropeMaker.
64** Trainstopping is the obvious way for Superman to demonstrate that he's "more powerful than a locomotive."
65** In the rebooted ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' #1, the first issue of [[ComicBook/ActionComicsNew52 Grant Morrison's run]], Lex Luthor causes a Metropolis bullet train to go out of control. Superman is able to stop it, but being as this is set in his early days, when he was weaker and [[InASingleBound couldn't even fly yet]], [[spoiler:stopping the train almost kills him, allowing Lex and the military to capture him]]. (Added StealthPun: Superman has to be faster ''and'' more powerful than a speeding bullet locomotive!)
66** The picture is from ''ComicBook/SupermanForAllSeasons'', when Superman has to stop the train because the conductor, like everyone else in Metropolis, has passed out due to a virus Lex Luthor unleashed upon the city.
67** In [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Wonder Woman 600]] Superman stops a train after Aegeus wrecks a bridge, unfortunately the distance it takes to slow it down safely brings him back within range of Aegeus' magical attacks.
68** Parodied in a Creator/SergioAragones drawn ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' strip, where Superman stops a train without moving an inch. The final panel shows the entire train derailed, with people lying everywhere, and Superman's got a OhCrap expression on his face. In a similar gag, Superman lifts an ocean liner out of the water to save it from danger. It promptly breaks apart from having all of its mass supported by only his hands, with passengers falling out of the wreckage.
69** Superman later explains to his son, Jon Kent, that they have to stop the train slowly and not abruptly, lest it break apart and derail as mentioned above.
70** Superman does this in the Golden Age reality in ''ComicBook/TheDominusEffect'' to stop a train that is carrying Jews to a concentration camp to be exterminated.
71* ComicBook/WonderWoman does this on occasion, especially in the Golden Age:
72** Di stops a train in ''More Fun Comics'' #1.
73** In ''ComicBook/SensationComics'' #26, Wonder Woman is [[ChainedToARailway tied to the railway tracks]] with what she thinks is her magic lasso. Once she realizes it is a fake, she is able to break loose and stop the train by lifting the locomotive off the tracks.
74** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': During one of Diana's many Silver Age bouts of amnesia Steve Trevor reminds her of a time when she stopped two trains that were going to run headlong into each other while telling her of her exploits to try and jog her memory.
75* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
76** There was an issue in the late '90s that paired up Gambit and Bishop, and involved them stopping a runaway train. It let the writer have fun with the combination of powers, where Gambit (an Energy Maker) pumped the engine full of kinetic energy, and Bishop (an Energy Taker) absorbed all of it into himself, before riding the rails to slow the train.
77** A late '80s story had Rogue (with some help from Longshot's [[BornLucky fabulous luck]]) stopping a train before it could plough into a pit made by the Juggernaut, leaving Psylocke and Dazzler to try and stop the Juggernaut on their own.
78** In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Colossus is ordered to do this by Wraith, even though Colossus isn't even sure he'll survive it. The train is utterly demolished while Colossus is unscathed.
79* A parody comic featured Superman using his body to bridge a gap in a train track, with the engineers commenting that this happens regularly. Cut to Superman enjoying his vigorous back massage.
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Fan Works]]
83* In ''Fanfic/HuntersOfJustice'', Team RWBY and Qrow help Jonah Hex stop the supervillain Cronos from stealing a Native American artifact from the past, but the train the artifact is kept on goes out of control. The heroes manage to disconnect the back cars but write off the engine and front car as lost. Then one of the natives who had been tracking the train and their stolen artifacts [[spoiler:reveals himself to be [[WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}} Apache Chief]], who grows into a giant to stop the speeding engine with his bare hands before it can careen into a canyon]].
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
87* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', Mr. Incredible stops an elevated train from crashing after a bomb accidentally destroys a piece of track, although several people sue him for the resulting injuries. Still, Mr. Incredible visibly cringes in preparation of the incoming slam; it won't kill him, but it is still going to ''hurt''.
88* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' has a variation, where the Giant must fix the rails... that he himself broke. [[spoiler:Then he spends so long making sure the fix is perfect that the train ends up crashing into his head.]]
89* In ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck (as "Super Duck") and WesternAnimation/PorkyPig (as his cameraman) have intentionally set up a RunawayTrain by tying up the engineer. But just as WesternAnimation/BugsBunny (in the role of Franchise/{{Batman}}) and UsefulNotes/LeBronJames (in the role of Robin) have arrived to ask them to re-join the Tune Squad, Daffy ends up breaking the emergency brake lever he was trying to pull, and the train accelerates. But right before they can crash into an orphanage, Franchise/{{Superman}} stops the train just in time (as per usual), not amused by Daffy's stunt.
90* In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanVsTheElite'', NinetiesAntiHero Manchester Black when recounting his OriginStory to Superman shows himself doing this with his PsychicPowers to save his younger sister who had fallen in its path... while conveniently neglecting to mention that [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome the impact killed a dozen passengers]] with [=MI6=] covering the whole thing up.
91* The imagination setpiece at the opening of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this]]: Woody fails to save a RunawayTrain filled with orphan trolls before it falls over a destroyed bridge... cue the BigDamnHeroes moment for Buzz Lightyear as he catches the train in midair and saves the day.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
95* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'': The fight between Ultron and Cap in Seoul takes them onto a speeding Seoul Metropolitan Subway train. When the freshly defected Maximoff twins come to Cap's aid, Ultron inadvertently kills the train's driver in the course of firing a laser blast at Pietro, and escapes. The train subsequently plows through a bumping block as it runs out of track and careens several blocks through the streets. Wanda uses her telekinesis to bring the train to a stop while Pietro runs ahead and clears the train's path of pedestrians.
96* Subverted in ''Film/BatmanBegins''. Batman deliberately intends to cause the monorail train (built by his dad, no less) to crash by having Gordon blow up a piece of the beam with the Tumbler. He doesn't take Ra's al-Ghul in the train with him when he leaves, letting the subsequent explosion kill Ra's.
97* In ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', Hancock saves Ray by stopping a train from hitting his car. Somewhat like the trope picture, Hancock is a FlyingBrick and straight up halts the train rather than slowing it gradually. As a result, he causes the train to derail into a messy pileup that will probably cost hundreds of thousands in damages and cleanup - Ray points out that it would have been much easier to just lift the car off the track.
98* A rare villain example occurs in ''Film/HeroicTrio''. TheDragon takes over a station and sends the train [[RunawayTrain out of control]]. The heroes fight him until the train plows through the station wall, heading right for him. He tries to stop it a la Franchise/{{Superman}} but ends up getting pinned to a wall.
99* Done (in the last method) in ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheMovie'' - "Angel Grove" (Sydney) Monorail, filled with the kids of Angel Grove, rushes off to try to stop the hypnotized parents. However, the Ivan Ooze/Hornitor fusion machine had destroyed part of the rail. Tommy sees this and pilots the Falconzord to use its back and wings as replacement tracks, allowing them to cross safely.
100* In ''Film/SpiderMan2'', Octavius does this by disabling an 'L' train's brakes, and leaves Spidey to stop it. Peter jumps to the front of the train, and gives it three tries: First, he tries brute force via putting his foot down on the tracks to generate friction. This doesn't work, and hurts, and ruins a good number of ties. Then he tries firing weblines on either side. The train quickly breaks out when they stretch too far. So he tries again, firing a dozen weblines on each side, to spread out the force, which eventually does stop the train, but only after nearly pulling Spidey apart, and the first car is left hanging precariously off the structure.
101* In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' (1978), the title character does the "replace the rails with his body" bit to save a train from derailing after an earthquake rips a hole in the tracks.
102* ''Film/SupermanReturns'' does this with an airplane instead of a train, as a way to demonstrate that Superman has, well, returned.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Literature]]
106* ''Literature/RaisingSteam'': Constable Bluejohn, a troll even bigger than Detritus, stops a runaway train he's on (while going up a mountain, the locomotive is separated from the train) by reaching out a hand and grabbing the cliffside.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
110* In ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'', "Untouchable" has meta of the week, Clive Yorkin, using his powers to destroy an overpass and drop rubble onto a track in the path of a train full of passengers. To keep the passengers safe, Barry grabs firmly onto the train and vibrates so fast it causes the train to [[IntangibleMan phase through the rubble safely]].
111* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': Nate Heywood AKA Steel, gets to do this at the climax of the Season 2 episode [[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS2E6OutlawCountry ''Outlaw Country'']], preventing it from reaching the pass and exploding the load of [[{{Unobtanium}} dwarfstar ore]] it's carrying. He's visibly excited after he succeeds.
112-->'''Nate:''' ''(raising his fists into the air)'' I STOPPED THE TRAIN!
113* In ''Series/LoisAndClark'', Superman has to do this. However, this is in the 90s, in the scheme of things not terribly long ComicBook/PostCrisis, so he has great difficulty doing it (when his PowerCreepPowerSeep is at its ''most'' ridonkulous, the man who can move planets with his bare hands doesn't worry too much about trains. But this Supes ain't that Supes, with the writers having given him a significant {{Nerf}}ing to make him easier to believably challenge.) Naturally, in the end he ''does'' prove to be "more powerful than a locomotive." The fact that it's hard for him averts the usual problem of horizontal NotTheFallThatKillsYou: the train ''definitely'' slows down gradually instead of being stopped instantly (which would rightfully result in as much passenger squishification as being stopped with equal suddenness by a crash.)
114* ''Series/Supergirl2015'':
115** After guiding a plane to a safe water landing in the pilot episode, Supergirl gets to stop her first train in the fourth episode, [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E4HowDoesSheDoIt "How Does She Do It?"]] After failing to convince a suicide bomber in a mag-lev train's lead car not to activate his bomb, Supergirl decouples the rest of the train and slows it to a stop, allowing the car to carry the bomb to a safe distance.
116** In the second season's "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S2E14Homecoming Homecoming]]," in order to escape the villains detonate several charges on a train bridge, which just so happens to have a train incoming. Supergirl welds one of the rails back into place with HeatVision and holds up the other herself as the train passes over.
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Music]]
120* The reggae song ''Stop That Train'', best known in the version of Music/BobMarleyAndTheWailers, heard on ''Music/CatchAFire''.
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
124* In ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', one of the hazards in Megalopolis is an out-of-control train. If the heroes don't do enough damage to the card, it deals enormous damage to the two targets with the highest HP. Given that one of these is usually the main villain, it can be advantageous to leave the card out -- provided the next highest HP target doesn't mind. Also, one of Legacy's cards depicts him catching a locomotive -- possibly the same one -- and his flavor text quips, "Excuse me, I have a train to catch."
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Video Games]]
128* Jonathan and Charlotte must team up to do this to a ghost train at one point in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin''.
129* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'':
130** Villainous example in ''VideoGame/ContraHardCorps'' against the Powered Ninja Yokozuna, one of the bosses. It [[RacingTheTrain outruns the train]] then pushes it to a halt. The port of ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance even imports this battle into that game.
131** A similar instance also occurs with another blue mecha boss in ''VideoGame/ContraShatteredSoldier''.
132* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': During the fourth Christmas event "Holy Samba Night", there's a ShoutOut to the ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' example where [[BadassPreacher Saint Martha]] was disqualified from the wrestling tournament during the off-screen "Train Attack" event when she saved a puppy that wandered onto the tracks via this method. She has to settle for being a coach to the Chaldean team, specifically Bradamante.
133* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Sabin suplexes the Ghost Train. Or [[ReviveKillsZombie throws some magic bird feathers at it]].
134* You have to shoot a runaway subway train into scrap in at least one ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' title.
135* One sports event in ''VideoGame/NumanAthletics'' involves your selected athlete having to do this. Thankfully, [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual being a Numan]] gives them the SuperStrength necessary for it.
136* According to its Pokedex entry, Hariyama from ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' actually has this ability.
137* In the strength-test arcade game ''VideoGame/SonicBlastMan'', one of the scenarios that has to be resolved by punching things as hard as you can is stopping an out-of-control train.
138* In ''VideoGame/SonicShuffle'', the fourth stage's final game has Sonic and his friends stop a train with their bare hands. They're in a dream-like world, so it works.
139* Subverted in ''VideoGame/StarFox64''. How do you stop the gigantic Forever Train? You blow it up. Starting at the back. Eventually, you reach the engine where the driver deploys a battle droid to fight you. Or for the advanced path, you hit eight switches along the way to open a lock on the track switcher and send it crashing into a fuel bunker.
140* The intro to ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha 3'' scales it up by having [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Unit 01]] stopping a cruiser-sized [[Anime/{{Gunbuster}} Space Monster]] from crashing into the ''Excelion'', but only slowing it down until [[Anime/GaoGaiGar Genesic GaoGaiGar]] plows through it with Hell and Heaven.
141* [[TheBigGuy The Heavy]] does this at the climax of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s "End of the Line" update video against a train headed for the bases's explosives stockpile. Even with the Heavy's StoutStrength and the Medic's [[NighInvulnerability ÜberCharge]], some of the train cars get derailed and destroy some outlying buildings, but everyone survives in the end.
142* Subverted in ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves''. Perhaps to highlight Nate's accidental action hero status, the train he happens to be on at first starts off unscathed, until you are attacked by a Hind-D attack chopper, at which point the explosions start. The entire back end of the train is cut off, and the only reason you survive is because you go under a tunnel at the last second. The train gets stopped for good later when Nate shoots some propane tanks in a last stand, blowing the train up off the tracks, and it ends up dangling over a thousand foot deep Himalayan valley.
143* ''VideoGame/WarioWareTouched'': Subverted. Wario as Wario Man tries to stop the train, then gets smashed halfway across the horizon and into a sewer.
144* A stage in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: The 2nd Runner'' starts with a BattleshipRaid against a train. Then Jehuty has to stop the flaming wreck manually, because a high-speed train [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome keeps going at high speed]], even after getting destroyed.
145[[/folder]]
146
147[[folder:Webcomics]]
148* Mr. Mighty in ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'' [[http://eheroes.smackjeeves.com/comics/1891142/mighty-annoyed/ has to do this]] to protect a BusFullOfInnocents.
149* A parody comic shows Superman replacing a gap in a bridge, with the engineers commenting that this an increasingly frequent occurence. The final panel is Superman enjoying his vigorous back massage.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Web Original]]
153* In three "[[LetsPlay/AchievementHunterGrandTheftAutoSeries Things to do in Grand Theft Auto V]]", the Creator/AchievementHunter team attempts to do this with the train that drives around in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''. They tried with buses, a tunnel filled with dump trucks and an entire conga line of dump trucks. None of them stop it. Years later, they added in the Mobile Command Centers. Still didn't work!
154* One entry in the ''Website/DarwinAwards'' was a man who tried to do this in real life, with predictable results.
155[[/folder]]
156
157[[folder:Western Animation]]
158* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', Ben as [[BuiltWithLego Bloxx]] replaces the missing tracks with his own body.
159-->'''Ben/Bloxx:''' Oh, is this going to hurt. *train passes over* YEEEOOWH!
160* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'' used this one, with the Captain saving a runaway monorail car.
161* The ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'' has several takes on this:
162** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
163*** In "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE2ChristmasWithTheJoker Christmas with the Joker]]", being {{Badass Normal}}s, Batman and Robin are forced to stop the train through the relatively mundane method of disconnecting the carriages from the engine, then leaping off the train with the engineer in tow.
164*** On another occasion, Batman is forced to stop a runaway tram, using the Batmobile. He manages to stop the tram, but also totals the car and has to continue his RaceAgainstTheClock to stop a TimeBomb on foot.
165*** One crossover episode has Batman and Superman team up to achieve this. Batman did a lot of the work to make it possible, but it still took Superman letting the bad guy get away to actually stop the train.
166** ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'':
167*** Surprisingly, Supes himself never full-on stops a train in this manner,[[note]]Without Batman/the Batmobile's help at least.[[/note]] but the villainous Metallo intentionally ''does'' to show his power in "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS1E7TheWayOfAllFlesh The Way of All Flesh]]", causing a huge pile-up.
168*** There's also another variation in "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS1E11MyGirl My Girl]]" where a terrorist uses his BFG to destroy a railroad bridge, forcing Superman to use himself as the tracks [[SadisticChoice while the terrorist gets away]].
169*** In "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E6IdentityCrisis Identity Crisis]]", Bizarro attempts to stop a bridge from "collapsing". Unfortunately, it's ''opening'' to let a boat through.
170** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'':
171*** "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E22And23Metamorphosis Metamorphosis]]" opens with Green Lantern/John Stewart stopping a runaway train. It still crashes into a station, but without him, the damage would've been much worse.
172*** Justice Lord Wonder Woman stops a train after an overpass is wrecked in "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E11And12ABetterWorld A Better World]]".
173*** In "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS3E8TheGreatBrainRobbery The Great Brain Robbery]]", Sinestro destroys a bridge so that a train full of gold is forced to hit the brakes. It doesn't stop in time, but Sinestro creates a replacement set of tracks to divert it to a nearby mountain cave where he can rob it blind. Hey, he has a [[ImaginationBasedSuperpower Yellow Lantern Ring]].
174* PlayedForHorror in the ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' episode "[[Recap/Invincible2021S01E08WhereIReallyComeFrom Where I Really Come From]]". [[spoiler:Omni-Man]] picks up the titular hero and holds him directly in front of an onrushing subway train. This results in Invincible's invulnerable body tearing through the train—and its hundreds of passengers—like a bullet through Styrofoam, much to Invincible's horror.
175* In ''WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures'', Iron Man does both the push and pull versions in the pilot. He first attempts to stop a four-car train from the front. This particular model has a door on the front, though, so it just collapses under his weight. Then he disconnects the other cars so he can pull the first to a stop. This doesn't work completely, but he slows it down enough to lift it into the air once it flies off the unfinished track.
176* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' episode "Queen Wasp", [[HeroWithAnFInGood Chloé/Queen Bee]] attempts to invoke this trope by paralyzing a subway driver so she can stop the train [[EngineeredHeroics and look like a hero]]. Unfortunately, she isn't strong enough to stop the train herself (although she is durable enough to survive being pushed along the tracks at high speed), so Ladybug and Chat Noir have to come to the rescue, with Ladybug using her KillerYoYo to slow the train enough that Chat can block it with his TelescopingStaff at the next station.
177* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "The Iron Eater", Clark Kent is travelling on a train when the eponymous monster eats the tracks in front of the train. Clark has to do a fast train change to Superman and stop the train before it derails.
178* In his [[WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailor first theatrical cartoon]], ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} saves Olive Oyl, who is ChainedToARailway, by ''punching out'' the train at the last second.
179** In another cartoon, Bluto pretends that he's {{Franchise/Superman}} and can stop a train with his own strength. The train actually stopped of its own volition - they're standing just outside the train stop and the train had slowed to a stop right before reaching his hand.
180*** At the end of that cartoon, Bluto ties Olive to the railroad tracks and ''Popeye'' has to stop the oncoming train. He stops it exactly the same way he did in his first cartoon.
181* WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls have to stop two trains (on the same track, mind) from colliding with each other as one of the riddles posed by Him ("Him Diddle Riddle").
182* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': Fiskerton has to stop a runaway train before it smashes into the end of an unfinished tunnel in "Target: Fiskerton". He grabs hold of the rear of the train and digs his feet in, snapping sleepers as he goes.
183* In a ShoutOut to ''Film/SpiderMan2'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' does this. [[{{Pun}} Spectacularly.]] In that case it was an 18-wheel semi.
184* ''[[WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle Super Chicken]]'' tries to do this in the opening of his cartoon shorts; the train just plows him over.
185* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'':
186** In 1973-74 episode "The Power Pirate", Superman saves a train rolling backwards down a mountain by using his strength to bring it to a stop.
187** In the opening title for the 1973-74 season, Superman is shown stopping a runaway train by grabbing the train's back end and pulling until the train stops. This may be a unique case, but it's a lot safer than the other method.
188** In one episode Wonder Woman stops ''two'' trains on a collision course with each other, by standing between them and pushing hard in both directions. (How this is materially different from an actual collision, only the scriptwriters can tell you.)
189* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Superman Theatrical Cartoon|s}}'' "Billion Dollar Limited" has Superman inverting it, doing everything he can to ''keep'' the train going, including saving it from falling into a canyon when the bridge is dynamited by the bad guys. It's on Website/YouTube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f44K6VYU67g here]]: the scene starts around 6:00. He eventually ends up ''pulling'' the train himself all the way to its destination.
190* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'':
191** Bumblebee is forced to stop a subway train (while trapped in her minimum size) before it reaches a certain destination, or a bomb will go off. [[spoiler:She doesn't stop the train, but she did manage to stop the timer on the bomb.]]
192** In the same episode, Más Y Menos have to keep a train from going over a broken bridge. They don't stop the train, but they do pull the switch so it goes onto another (not broken) track.
193* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'':
194** Optimus Prime gets to do this when a train carrying a nuclear device is heading towards tracks that were just destroyed. He also did it the right way, taking his time to gradually slow it down.
195** In another episode, Knockout stops an out of control subway sweeper train...with his face.
196* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' has an unusual example in that a villain, Gantlos, does this to save his ally Ogron from being run over. His shockwave stops the train from full speed.
197* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution''. Two trains, one carrying fuel, the other passengers, were diverted onto one set of tracks, heading towards each other. Attempting to save the day, Jean tries to slow down one train. Jean, however, simply isn't that good, so Kitty has to phase one through the other. Kitty likewise isn't that good, so StuffBlowingUp ensues.
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200[[folder:Real Life]]
201* At 1 G of acceleration, a superhero could stop a 250 mile per hour train in 11.4 seconds over a distance of 637 meters. For a far more typical 79 MPH train, 3.6 seconds over 63.6 meters. On the other hand, at that level, the train would tend to crumple, like trying to stand a rope on end. Matching real trains' real emergency braking of .15 G would stop a 250 MPH train in 76 seconds over 4244 meters, or a 79 MPH train in 24 seconds over 424 meters.
202[[/folder]]
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