A 37-year-old model and actor featured on the cover of numerous fitness magazines was struck and killed by a train while filming on the tracks in Southern California, authorities said.



Two men were filming George Plitt Jr on the railroad track north of the Burbank train station Saturday afternoon when he was hit by a southbound train, said Burbank Police Sgt Scott Meadows.



Investigators, who interviewed witnesses who saw Mr Plitt standing on the track even as the train's horn was blaring, have ruled out a suicide, he said.



It appears Mr Plitt may have believed the train was on a nearby, parallel track, Meadows said.



"It's like a blind turn," he said. "When the train came, you might not be able to tell which set the train is on."



It was not immediately clear what the men were filming. Investigators are trying to determine who directed the men to film on the railroad track.



Mr Plitt was a well-known fitness model, he said.



The actor and West Point graduate has appeared on more than 200 magazine covers, Bravo's reality television show Work Out and NBC's daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives, according to a website in Greg Plitt's name.



Mr Plitt was born in Baltimore. He served five years in the Army after graduating from West Point, the website said.