their boy wonder robin on a abandoned tracks in wisconsin. >> knowing what we know now, that it was illegal, we wouldn't -- i don't think we would do it again. >> reporter: no tragic ending here but the internet did blow up in scorn for what critics called an unnecessary risk. then there's the celebrity fitness expert from bravo, greg plip, who died during a photo shoot. he had posted videos of workouts on the tracks before. even professionals can get hurt. this hollywood movie went on location in rural georgia for a dramatic opening sequence for the film "midnight rider." leading to real-life terror on the trestle. watch as this train unexpectedly swept across the bridge leaving little room for the actors to escape, killing one camera assistant left behind. >> i just kept saying over and over, lord help us. >> reporter: it was revealed

later they were filming without a permit. the director sentenced to two years in jail for involuntary manslaughter. >> sarah was the first person i saw. she was lying on the side of the tracks, dead. >> reporter: so why is this happening? walking on the railroad track deaths are up nearly 10% already this year. nearly 500 last year alone. many of them taking selfies or traditional camera shots on the rails. yesterday in florida, photographer kelly cortes took this video of a shoot she conducted on the tracks. a family who wanted a keepsake picture. >> to allow us to have something very unique. >> reporter: kelly says her shoots are safe. she stays near an intersection of road and track for an easier escape and puts a penny on the track, believing it will vibrate long before a train gets near her. >> you have be smart, be

>> you can never judge a train's speed. it's an optical illusion. if it's a tie you're going to lose. >> reporter: railroad engineers we rode with argue there is no safe way to take rail pics. the roar of the engine follows the train. the sounun surprisingly quiet as it speeds toward you. and the tracks are narrower than the train itself, making it hard to judge safe clearance. a fully loaded freight train weighs as much as 6,500 tons. that's like 2,500 african elephants running at you. it can take 18 football fields to stop. anywhere from one to two minutes from emergency brake to full stop. >> once the engineer decides to put the train in emergency and he's seen you, it's too late. >> reporter: charles samuels, an gineer on norfolk southern in virginia, says he sees people on the tracks every day. it haunts him. gives him what he calls railroad dreams. >> they don't know how it's

i kill them or hurt them. they're not worried about that. they're worried about their shot. >> reporter: "operation lifesaver lifesaver" works with railroads including union pacific to release public service announcements, trying to slow down the rail photo trend. >> what is he thinking? >> see tracks, think train. >> the simple truth is, people are not able to get out of the way in time. we tell people a very simple message, stay off the tracks. it's illegal, it's dangerous, it can be deadly. >> reporter: for student photographer jeremy sprites, his rail photo days are over. he was on the tracks just a few yards away the day john john was hit by this train. the pictures taken here don't look so romantic anymore. >> i definitely don't think his passing was worth taking pictures on a train track. you never expect it to happen. >> reporter: which brings us ck to john john's room in rural maryland where his mother

summer day when her son and friends had the innocent idea to take some pictures on the railroad tracks. >> just out of the blue. just -- your life stops. >> everything changed. everything is broken and it can't be fixed. he's never coming home again. >> reporter: that photogenic metaphor of the pathway ahead too often just a dead end. for "nightline" i'm jim avila in boyds, maryland. next, we're with a transgender teen on the journey to becoming nicole. her parents stumbling into activism in support of their child. plus, inside a school for sword swallowing. what performers are willing to stomach for the sake of entertainment and why audiences are eating it up. charged up.

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you can call her a pioneer or just a regular teenager. the girl you're about to meet brother. in you she's part of a young generation of transgender activists say they're proud of and sure of who they are days before a life-changing surgery that will transform her body. abc's deborah roberts is there. >> reporter: meet 18-year-old nicole and jonas mains. >> fit snaps i'm going to

literally die laughing. >> reporter: they may not look like it but they're actually identical twins. >> i'll go to say something and he'll say it right before i say it. >> reporter: they may share the same genes but they're different. nicole is transgender. >> i knew that i was trans when i was like 3. i just knew in my head and in my heart that i was supposed to be a girl. >> reporter: and she's recently made the decision to undergo sex reassignment surgery. >> i feel like it's going to give me almost a sense of closing that i feel like i've needed for a long time. >> reporter: a long time indeed. like her brother, nicole was born a boy. his name wyatt. >> i knew i identified as a girl. i was like, i got this. but my body didn't match it. >> so i don't understand how you know that you should be something different. like you're little, you're 3. >> i have no idea. it's just one of those things that you know. >> reporter: for her parents, kelly and wayne, it's all very puzzling.

>> i knew that nicole was different. i didn't know what it was. i didn't know she was transgender at 3. i just knew she wasn't like the other twin. she'd play all the girl roles. she always wanted to dress as a girl character. >> reporter: wayne struggled with letting go of one of his sons. >> when the twins were born i had these dreams of football, basketball, everything we thought about for me was the boys. >> reporter: he tried ignoring wyatt's desire to be different. >> man, i didn't want to think about it. when we let her go out in a dress and this kid beamed and was happier -- then i started to think about it. like, man. i got to change who i am. i had to dig deep into my soul and say, hey, what are you afraid of? >> reporter: they supported wyatt having long hair and wearing girls' clothing. >> i would go up to somebody in first grade and say, i'm wyatt and i'm a boy who wants to be a girl. >> you would say that to kids in first grade? >> yeah, i didn't think it was

anything wrong, it was the thing that came with my introduction. >> at what point did you decide you wanted another name? >> probably fourth grade. it wasn't a name for girls so i needed a new one. i started looking at tv characters i idoled, tv characters i felt described me, i finally decided nicole. >> any particular character? >> yes, there was this character on "zee wee 101." one of her classmates' names was nicole. she was quirky, fun. i was like, oh, she's a lot like me. >> you're good. >> you too. >> i'm a nicole. >> reporter: by age 8, wyatt was no longer. by middle school nicole was beginning to feel ostracized. >> kids would say there was something wrong with me. i'd come home crying, there's something wrong with me. they'd say, don't listen to them, be true to yourself, this is who you are, just be true to you. >> reporter: jonas was fiercely supportive of his sister during this time. >> when i was a kid my dad told

me to look after her, protect her, do what you have to do. that was a huge responsibility that i had to carry around for a lot of years. >> reporter: then came the bathroom issue. for years nicole had used the girls' restroom. until one of her classmates' grandfather complained to school officials. the mains family filed and won a discrimination lawsuit against their school district, scoring a big victory for trans kids. the case changing state law. 've never been shy about telling the world who i am. >> reporter: since the lawsuit, nicole has been in the spotlight. her family now unlikely activists and the subject of a new book "becoming nicole." it's been a pivotal year for the transgender movement thanks in part to caitlyn jenner's story. her speech at the espy awards striking a chord with nicole. >> for the thousands of kids out there, coming to terms with being true to who they are, they

>> i'm like, thth should not have to take it. they should be able to go to school. >> reporter: nicole is part of a new generation of out and proud trans kids. like jazz jennings, star of the tlc show "i am jazz." despite increasing social acceptance, being transgender isn't without controversy, especially when it comes to teens undergoing the life-altering sex reassignment surgery. >> you're only 17. teenagers change their minds a lot. are you sure you're ready to make such a commitment? >> absolutely. this has always been what i needed. this has always been, like i said, my light at the end of the tunnel. >> how long have you been thinking about this moment? >> well was asking my dad. i would ask him when i was 4. i'd come up to him in tears, dad, when do i get to get rid of my penis? what's wrong with me? >> a lot of trans people choose not to have surgery.

like a man or a woman. why is it so important to you to do the surgery? >> this is the final piece of the puzzle. my body is finally going to match what's happening in my head and heart. >> serious surgery. >> yeah. i worry. i don't want her to have to do this. it wasn't my choice to have a transgender child. i'd rather she was already female. but i'll do what i have to do help my kid be who they need to be. >> reporter: we were with the family on surgery day. her puzzle, as she calls it, now complete. >> everything went really well. it didn't take as long as we thought. it's amazing weight off of our shoulders. >> reporter: weeks later, back at the family home in maine, nicole is prepping for another big transition. >> today is all about getting ready for college. it's all about packing up the last of my stuff. my room's a mess because i've been tearing it apart. >> reporter: for the first time the twins will be on their own. >> i'm ready to be sort of away from you. not in like a bad day.

that sounded really bad. i think it's just going to be a really good experience to be able to have that space and be able to, yeah, have our own friends. >> just call me. >> i will. >> reporter: these days the most pressing thing on nicole's mind? passing midterms. >> i'm happy. i like it. i got my hair done today, i got my makeup on. i'm happy. i'm nicole. i'm incredibly happy. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm deborah roberts in maine. up next, an expert sword swallower explains why high entertainment value comes with high risk at a popular stunt show. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yeah, everybody knows that. well, did you know that playing cards with kenny rogers gets old pretty fast? you got to know when to hold'em. know when to fold 'em.

know when to run. you never count your money, when you're sitting at the ta... what? you get it? i get the gist, yeah. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. it was a scary sight... how often we were changing the roll. it really started to add up. so we switched to charmin. with more go's in every roll, charmin ultra mega roll equals mega value. each sheet is 75% more absorbent so you can use less with every go. which means charmin ultra mega roll lasts longer than even the leading thousand-sheet brand. cha-ching! nothing scary about that. we all go,

*e@ finally, a little something to get you fired up on a friday night. while it involves fire in your face, swords down the throat -- wait, it's way more popular than i just made it sound. brooklyn's coney island is full of attractions not for the faint of heart. but there's one act in the

circus sideshow that tops them all. sword swallower. it's the ultimate "don't try thth at home." >> down the hatch! without a scratch. >> reporter: during the course of a typical show day, ray will swallow a sword about 25 times. >> someone who says that i'm swords would be absolutely right. because i am doing that every single time i swallow a sword. i do it so that i can entertain people. i have to defy death in the process, so be it. >> reporter: believe it or not more people are willing to take that risk. shows like "american horror story freak show" have put the act back in the spotlight. soaped performers and newcomers alike flock to the coney island sideshow school to learn the hottest acts. to them the $1,000 tuition fee is well worth it to pick up the secrets of the trade from the professor, adam reelman. >> what you're about to see, ladies and gentlemen, is the

single most does thing in a circus sideshow, known as sword swallowing. there's been a few major injuries. every so often you'll hear of sword swallowers ripping their insides out. >> reporter: for the students it's part of the draw. >> you have to be in control of something dangerous. it looks fantastic. >> you want to be nice and relaxed. >> reporter: they start slow with bent coat hangers. when they master that they charge on to the heavy artillery. the stakes are high. internal bleeding, a punctured esophagus, perforated lungs, and death can all happen if something goes awry. but adam says they can get there with a little practice and a lot of determination. to each his own. thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow. as always we're online 24/7 on

and abcnews.com. >> announcer: the following is a paid presentation for derm exclusive instant anti-aging, brought to you by beachbody. >> hi, everybody. i'm deborah norville. and i've got breaking news from the world of skincare. this time, there's a celebrity twist. keep watching. you are not gonna want to miss this. [ cheers and applause ] >> announcer: if you don't like the face staring back at you in the mirror... >> my skin was sagging. really heavy bags under my eyes. >> announcer: ...if age, sun, stress, and life have robbed you of smooth, young-looking skin... >> i don't want to go and get injections, but i thought that was the only choice i had. >> announcer: ...now there's a doctor-approved way to look up to 10 years younger in just minutes with a breakthrough in age-reversing skincare -- a

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talk to you about this great skincare system. >> well, i'm thrilled to be here, too. >> so, with this system, you can really kind of get all of the same results that if i were to come to your office and spend a lot of money, i'd be able to get, right? >> that's what's so great about derm exclusive. now women everywhere can get the same age-reversing results at home, at a fraction of the cost. >> you know, i'm like most women. i've never been to a plastic surgeon, but, i have to say, i was kind of curious. so a while back, i came to his office in beverly hills for a consultation to see what you would recommend and how much it was gonna cost. >> do you want to see what i recommended for deborah? [ cheers and applause ] all right, let's check it out. i came up with a plan -- some injectables to cut those wrinkles, some fillers for the nasal labial line in here, and i think i recommended a series of photo facials to help those crow's-feet. and that came out to around $4,000 or $5,000. >> yeah. it was a lot of money. >> i guess she wasn't quite

ready for that, so, instead, i suggested that we use derm exclusive and fill & freeze. so, let's take a look at deborah after being treated with fill & freeze. [ applause ] >> that's amazing. >> your skin is dramatically smoother, the crepiness is really essentially gone, those fine lines are gone, the bags and puffiness, discoloration around your eyes really have completely disappeared. >> huge difference. >> i would honestly say the derm exclusive system has taken at least 10 years off, maybe more. what do you all think? [ cheers and applause ] >> not only have you saved me a lot of years but that saved me an awful lot of money, too, i have to say. >> don't -- don't remind me. >> [ laughs ] [ applause ] >> so, what's in this system? 'cause it's multiple things. >> deborah, the system starts with the micro peel resurfacing pads, which gently exfoliate, refine, and polish the skin, much like a chemical peel or a microdermabrasion that i would do in the office.

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