The mistake is thinking that herds only form because of objects like these.

Anything that attracts a zombie could form a herd. A person in a cage will eventually create a herd. Someone in a locked car will eventually form a herd.

Herds aren't these immutable objects. They are formed and broken depending on the stimuli in the area. Having more than one stimulus at different places can easily split up a herd.

 

yo man great theory!
Ignoring the realism, mathematical equations in this situation I think that your theory makes perfect sense!

another thing I thought of that could back up your theory is the scene from Season 4, Episode 3, Isolation.
the scene where Daryl, Michonne, Bob, and Tyreese are driving they hear the Terminus radio broadcast, and then get interrupted by a massive army of walkers. if you look in the background you can see what appears to be train carts. (i put link of scene below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbm7ji-Zd4I#aid=P-NqVmqor0w

 

Going by the logic from the game, Id say its very possible they use the trains in the storyline.

 

You are so right!!! I didn't think of it that way. If you go by how the zombies are S3 and S4, they would be real stupid. But the S1 and to an extent S2 zombies weren't that stupid. Like that one who sneaks up on andrea inside the trailer looks pretty smart, like he's thinking, he even puts his ear up against the bathroom door to listen to breathing. Wonder if the lack of food is making them real stupid? I also wonder why they didn't use rocks or something to break down the prison fences like those ones in Atlanta.

The real explanation is probably that the writers are trying to shift the emphasis on humans as the threat, and one method of doing that is by making the zombies stupider and thus less of a threat.

 

I honestly don't see why people are so against this idea. I think people just like to argue here sometimes. Yes, this is a very plausible idea, especially for steam trains since those aren't hard to power. They could do this several times early on when herds start to build up and send the herds on their way, gathering any zombies they happen to come across instead of those zombies going towards terminus. This would of course only work at the time used, and some stragglers would be left behind at terminus, or some would occasionally walk to Terminus, but those odd ones would easily be dealt with.

Additionally, even if the walkers only followed the train to an extent and then lost the sound of the train and ended up just following the sound, they would still be moving away from Terminus, so that argument against this theory fails harshly.

Also, no one would have to man the train once it is on its merry way, they just stoke it up and send it out. They wouldn't care if it crashed or fell off the tracks or if it stopped. It would draw zombies away from Terminus either way.

The only issue I can see is that Terminates want to get people to go to their town. If there are zombies all over the tracks, people might miss the signs and not go there.

All in all though, it's a fairly good theory, but I don't think we'll find out if it's correct ever either way.

 

Lol I always think about this too. Honestly, the zombies now are how they should have been from the start, and I think it was just different writers coming into play and directors figuring out how they wanted zombies to actually be.

 

How many trains do you think they have? The ZA has been going in for YEARS.

It sounds like you're saying that a bunch of zombies will follow a few trains and then that's it. No more zombies will group together near there ever again because... well, there's no trains to attract them.

 

True. They are in the woods near Terminus and all the gunfire the Termites seem to use to herd newcomers into rail cars should attract many every day.

I think the scouts are killing them to keep a mostly clear passage way for newcomers to Terminus.

Remember the guy bitten while Tyreese and Carol were helplessly watching him turn and told them to go to Terminus? He told them to stay on the tracks and not make his mistake by walking in the woods.

Perhaps Termites are trying to keep the tracks as clear as possible. Somebody has to be putting all the Terminus signs up along the train tracks.

 

I feel like Frank Darabont's getting the boot may have contributed to the change in walker intelligence.

 

If there was still a cadre of train operators at Terminus when the Termites started their operations there, they might have been able to follow this strategy initially, when they would have had:
1) Plenty of train operators, a highly skilled profession
2) Plenty of dry diesel for the trains
3) Assurance that the tracks would still be in good order

But as far as walker-herding techniques go, using trains is far less practical than using cars or trucks, which are much more maneuverable and don't require highly trained drivers, nor nearly as much fuel.

 

Was it going slow in that vid?