Rick,
I know all about the gymnastics that you described. I agree that the guy was too close. I am not debating that point, as I tried to make clear in my last post. My disagreement is with the action of the conductor.
If the guy was close enough to actually foul the engine, he would have gotten hit because his body did not move by the time the steps got even with him. And the guy’s position would have been entirely clear to the conductor. So he was not saving the guy’s life like an engineer going to the pilot and snatching a baby off the tracks in the nick of time, if that is what you mean by “kicking the guy out of danger.”
So, if what you see is a conductor kicking the guy out of danger, that’s fine. But that is not what I see. I see a conductor using that as an excuse to punish the guy. That is entirely different from kicking a guy out of danger.