Abstract: Employee #1, a brakeman, and two coworkers were switching railroad tank cars at a chemical plant. He directed the engine, which was pushing an empty tank car, to couple onto a string of loaded outbound tank cars at a loading rack. When the coupling failed to hold, Employee #1 stopped the engine with the couplings of the two tank cars approximately 3 or 4 feet apart. He had stepped between the two cars to adjust the drawworks when another loaded tank car came rolling down the incline and struck the string of outbound cars. This pushed the string of cars into the tank car in front of the engine, catching Employee #1 between them. He was killed instantly.