That takes some real guts to stand between buffers during a couple up ... I'm glad I don't work for the RR no more ,,, allot of dangerous unexpected railcar movements ... One guy I worked with said that he almost got coupled up when a set of railcars drifted in the repair shop ... he was standing in the gauge, and wasn't paying attention, and felt the coupler nudge him on the back, and he jumped out of the way just in the nick of time ... I hated coupling air hoses, and turning in the trainline air valves ... something always moved, and scared the bajeezus outa' you ! Train crews were always making movements without using a radio for communication ... once a train lurched backward 20' in a 1/4 second, without any warning ... BOOM, went 65 railcars in a violent couple up ! Luckily I had my brown pants on !
When ever I crossed tracks with railcars on them, I walked 20' distant the rear coupler ... I hated attaching a telemetry to a train coupler, and giving road air tests, something always moved unexpectedly.