Totallydifferent circumstances than backing a tractor up @ an angle to another stuck tractor and pulling. Sometimes sharp angle pulling is the only way to get a larger machine out with a smaller one.
But, that is what I call an "exercise in futility"! I don't know what they were hoping to accomplish by simply dragging the car up closer to the tracks. It would have still taken a crane to get it back on track, so they should have just gotten a crane in the first place. Bet they will next time lol.
I wonder how long those diesel engines ran before they were either shut down, blew up, or else they hydrolocked (whichever came first)?