Understood!

Once I saw the distance between the blind curve and the wreck spot, I got it. There were only seconds to get the brakes applied. Once the fireman hit the valve to release the steam, he was done. But Billy Westall needed a little more time to get the brakes applied. He’d probably just had enough time to hit the brakes and check the boiler pressure when the engine hit the obstruction.

The driver (engineer) had responsibility for the running and safety of the train and its passengers - and good engineers took their responsibilities very seriously. Many men chose to put that responsibility for others in their care before their own safety, risking and giving their lives. A train weighing several hundred tons cannot stop on a sixpence (or dime). As the narrator says, Billy chose to apply the brakes and shut the regulator before hitting the obstruction, rather than jump. From the photograph, had he not done so the ensuing pile up, with the coaches over riding the wrecked engine could have seen many casualties. The cab on Billy's engine was largely filled with the firebox, leaving a fairly narrow space for the driver to move; sadly this fate befell a lot of US drivers. To quote one old time engineer on the C&O "You have to have a lot of faith to pull that throttle, when you can't see what's waiting round the next curve". RIP all the brave men who served the railroads, in every country. We owe them.