How are trains able to start with so much cargo?

Question

Just passed by a train with a hundred or so cargo crates. how do they start? I understand how they continue moving, but how do they overcome the inertia of starting it? It has to be like thousands of tons, and I can’t imagine a bunch of coal being able to start moving that. unless of course it can, in which ELI5

In: Engineering

Answer 1

Hey buddy, let me make it simple. Trains start slowly, real slow. Each car in the train is started individually – kinda like a domino effect. So, the engine’s not hauling the whole train at once. And yeah, that coal’s got wicked energy – enough to get the ball rolling, so to speak!