My first attempt at replying to multiple recipients - apologies if it didn’t work
My father worked his way up from yard fireman on the Denver & Salt Lake (Moffat Road) to Division Engineer on the Denver & Rio Grande.
The few time he talked about grade crossing accidents, he noted that the train crews’ damage wasn’t always psychological. EMD diesel electric F model locomotives in many models have a door above the pilot on the A-units. A collision with a fuel tanker often injected burning fuel into the cab. Not nice for the engineer and whomever (head brakeman or fireman) might be riding in the cab.
Yeah if the blockage is big enough it can really mess the train and crew up.