Which car on a train is referred to as the "coffin car"?

Question

A friend told me that he had heard that 20/20 or Dateline had a segment on this...and that the railroads try to keep this info from the public. I asked a Long Island Railroad ticket guy about this, and he was clearly moved by my question, but said he had never heard of the term "coffin car".

Answer 1

Ok I found a link. Its the primetime story for abcnews.

Answer 2

It's usually the first car on the train when a train is operated without a locomotive up front.   Locomotives upfront can push objects off the track, but when it is located elsewhere, the first car takes the full impact of whatever is blocking the track, and is usually the car with the most fatalities.