I actually saw this happen. In th Southern Pacifc Santa Clara yard. I was in the Santa Clara Tower at the north end of the yard with the tower operator. One of the engineers switching cars with an H12-44 could not get a box car to couple to the engine. He kept trying, running faster and faster in reverse to get the car to couple. Finally he hit the car so hard that it tipped on its side with a tremdous bang. The operator and I at the same time said "What the heck". At that moment the yard master came on the radio asking "What the hell happened?" When the engineer came on the radio to explain, the yard master came back with "EXPLETIVES NOT DELETED". The tower operator and I started to laugh so hard we had to run down to the bathroom on the first floor so we would not have an accident.
I wish I had been in the Newhall tower when the yard master had to explain to the trainmaster in San Francisco why the big hook had to called down from the Bayshore yard. As I later was told, that engineer go 30 days on the street for his stunt.
According to an article on Fairbanks Morse switchers in a recent issue of the Soo Line historical society magazoine, engineers who ran them say that those FMs could really load/accelerate fast, and that if you weren't accustomed to them you could get in all sorts of scrapes. Exhibit A!
Dave Nelson