As a youth, I placed a good portion of my disposable income on the train tracks in order to later collect the flatten coins. Besides not being very sound economic practice, I heard that in doing so, I was running the risk of derailing the train. Now, if I walk along a train track any decent stretch, I can almost always find some small pebble or something on the track and yet I don’t hear of many train derailments, so I have to wonder how true this was. What about it - has there ever been a train derailed by the power of Lincoln?
“I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I have to think that the notion of old Abe chucking Casey and his choo-choo off the tracks has got to be an old wives’ tale.
Presumably the theory would go that the coin would act as some sort of a lever in conjunction with the train’s speed.
Which sounds bogus because even just one engine (not to mention an engine pulling many cars) has 1) multiple wheels (which distribute weight and anchor it to the tracks) and 2) enormous weight and would simply flatten the penny whether going really fast or really slow.
Of course, someone will probably now weigh in with tales of horrible tragedies caused by pocket change.
We used to put a nail on the tracks. It would flatten into a little sword, or dagger. Wrap the handle (next to the head) with string, and it looked pretty cool.
Not even nails would derail a locomotive.
Uh, these were normal sizes nails. I wouldn’t try this with a railroad spike.
Peace,
mangeorge
Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
Dance like nobody’s watching! Source???
If we’re going to talk about things on train tracks…
Here’s a warning to all the teenage punks out there concerning trains. A couple months ago, some high schoolers in Anaheim (motto: “We’ve got Disney coming out our butt”) stole the electric carts from their campus and drove them around the streets. One of them then parked a cart on the train tracks, where obviously it was smashed into tiny bits.
Here’s the warning: She was charged with attempted train derailment, which carries a potential life sentance.
Moral? Don’t do stuff that endangers masses of people.
If something that small had any effect on the train, don’t you think they would mount little brooms or scrapers or something on the front of the train? A little common sense can go a long way sometimes.
If you put a railroad spike on the rail, you have to be sure it is PAST the point where you are standing because it will SHOOT out when the train’s wheel hits it. Also the train operator will often call the police, who will come looking for you.(-Not that I’d know anything about this kinda stuff, , ,) - MC