There wasn't a train in sight...when we placed pennies on the tracks...
Now I do have a story about hitting a train in a car once though.....of course that was when I was an older "wiser" HS student.
I had some relatives that lived near some tracks and when visiting one summer, about all there was to do in that small town was see how long we could walk the rail, put pennies on the tracks and watch the seemingly rare train go by.
Whenever I put a penny on the track, it just disappeared once the train went by. So, I somehow decided putting the penny down in front of the oncoming train was the thing to do. Several times I darted out undeterred by horn blasts, each time closer and closer in hopes of recovering the penny. As I think about it, the last time I was awfully close.