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That all seems to be rather violent and the assumption then is that the
hammer hits the center rail just before it engages the sear so that there's no
damage to it as in "letting it slip",
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The operation
is a rather violent, slam-bang affair...and hitting the center rail isn't an assumption. It's a mechanical reality. Cycle the slide and ride it forward slowly...and watch the hammer as the slide goes to battery. It never completely releases it to the sear until about the last 32nd inch...and even that isn't under full force.
This also ties into the myth of the 1911 firing out of battery and blowing up.
It can't do that. It's mechanically impossible. With the slide .100 inch out of battery, the upper lugs are still engaged and the breech can't open even if it could fire...which it can't because at .100 inch out, the face of the hammer can't reach the firing pin. And...If the original 5/64ths firing pin stop radius is in play, it can't hit the pin at .090 inch out.
Back the slide up a 10th inch and look at the hammer and firing pin.
So, when somebody has a kaboom and offers the out of battery explanation, you know that what really happened was probably a double charge, or maybe they severely compromised the case head support during a double throwdown ramp'n'throat job. But firing out of battery? Nah.