About Those Women Tied to the Railroad Tracks

The plot device of a villain tying his victim to a railroad track is quite familiar to us, even though it doesn't make much sense. This murder method doesn't work because the hero will arrive just in time to unbind the victim, yet it creates suspense in that it takes an excruciating amount of time. You've also seen modern variations, like Goldfinger initiating a very slow industrial laser that will cut James Bond in half. It would be so much more efficient to just shoot the victim (a la Indiana Jones), but where's the drama in that? 

Still, the trope gave us an easy way to illustrate the ethical dilemma of the Trolley Problem. But has it ever happened in real life? Sadly, yes, and not always with a hero coming to the rescue. Simon Whistler gives us the history of the railroad track drama, which predates cinema, and its fallout.