Electricity

[Pradip]

What if a thunderbolt strikes a speeding train ? Will all the people electrocuted?

[patrickstar]

We will be safe in this country as non of our trains get up to any sort of speed!

[ChuckFickens]

No..

the metal shell of the train will act like a faraday cage and just conduct the electricity around the outside of the train and down to earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

(what is this doing in history)

[mollykins]

the same faraday cage principle applies to cars.

Thats why people can sit in cars during a thunderstorm quite safely.

[mollykins]

this should be in science or even motoring or even travel but not history.

[ChuckFickens]

Thinking about it a little more, it would also need to be a non-electric train running on a line without electric cables above it, otherwise the lightening would not even get to the train, it would hit the top cable on the power lines first, which is a lightening conductor and be taken to ground through that.

[Haggisdj]

Is it a very old train?