The pictures just illustrated the dangers of going through a really bad railroad crossing, it doesn't mean they actually rode like that. As you can see most of that crossing had boards missing. So it's possible that your wheel can get caught in a gap like that, normally you can't recover from this, it's a guaranteed dive. I've seen people fall when their front wheel got caught in a grate or crack in the road. So a rail crossing with gaps like that is better dealt with by walking.