Western Railroad Discussion > Coins on rails

In a thread below, Budd RDC Questions, it was stated that if pennies were placed on rails ahead of a stopped unit, it would stall starting up, and would have to back to take a run at getting over them.

I've heard this before about trains, so one day I performed some experiments to verify the validity of the statement.

My conclusion: It's an urban legend.

I posted a complete report several years ago on CompuServes TrainNet forum. Unfortunately, I cannot locate a copy of that report, now.

MTM, my company has a job for you in the Six Sigma department if you are interested. Bob

To look at it another way, on jointed rail, sometimes when an engine stops, it'll turn out that its lead wheelset is stopped just before the joint connecting two lengths of rail. Oftentimes, that next rail rises quite aways above the rail the engine's on, and that rise can be a lot higher than a coin, or even a small stack of coins. I've never seen anyone have to back up to get over that joint.

But, I've known another coin rumor since I was a kid: If you stack two coins on the rail, then the bottom coin will shoot out at high speed when the engine wheel hits the stack and (as our dad lectured us over and over when we were little) the shooting coin 'could kill somebody'. He put the fear of god in me so much I never tried it. Is it true?

--Mark Johnson

I don't think it's a matter of being true or not. I think it's a simple matter of physics and certain dynamics coming together. I've seen coins placed on the tracks shoot out in front of my engine at very low speeds leaving stations. I've heard them 'bump' when I've run over them. I've heard glass crunch under my wheels, other times I've heard it 'ring' the wheel like a bell when I run over it. I don't think there's any way you can predict what'll happen when a train hits something. On his old show, Letterman use to have a regular feature where they ran into various objects with a switch engine to see what would happen. Pretty funny stuff.

Back in the days of steam, my father-in-law told me that it was an SP requirement to place a length of chain on each side of a main driver whenever they tied up an engine as this would keep the engine from moving on its own. Failure to do so was a firing offense. I don't know how true this rumor is but I also heard way back when that if you placed a nickle under a main driver that the engine could not climb over it from a dead stop.
I didn't have the opportunity to ride steam with him but I did ride several night switching jobs with him out of Pittsburg and Ozol. The SP chain requirement was carried into the diesel era and as late as the 70's, he would place the chains when he tied up the switcher. He commented at the time that it seemed kind of silly as a diesel would walk over it anyhow.
I had a real nice ride one night out of Pittsburg. Work was light, SP had a cut of cars over by Mt View for Pittsburg and guess who got to go get them. I don't know which route they sent us on from Pittsburg to Niles but we went thru Alviso across the bay to Mt View. I do remember that it was a beautiful night and took about four hours for the trip. At 2 o'clock in the morning, we pretty much had the rails to ourselves.
Sorry if I have bored anyone. The trip came to mind and I felt like sharing it.

As we say in South Spokane, yaw'll take care now.
Unclefloyd

It wasn't an urban legend when my buddy put a quarter on the streecar tracks in Pittsburgh and it came flying back and popped him in the forehead ...luckily it landed flat and didn't take any eye out.

I'd heard if you put a penny on each rail, when the train starts, you'll be two cents poorer.

Just a legend, I'm sure.

unclefloyd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Back in the days of steam, my father-in-law told
> me that it was an SP requirement to place a length
> of chain on each side of a main driver whenever
> they tied up an engine as this would keep the
> engine from moving on its own. Failure to do so
> was a firing offense.

http://www.trainorders.com/media/image-new/img.php?im_id=4852

A chain in a single driver, main or otherwise, will discourage a locomotive from rolling under the influednce of gravity, but I can tell you from experience that it will not stall a locomotive when the throttle is opened. Chains were needed on steam engines because they did not have handbrakes.

I had a friend put a succesion of coins; penny, nickle, dime, quarter, half and a dollar on a rail each an inch or so apart. Dang near gave the engineer of the next train a heart attack. He had no idea what the noise/vibration was as he was reading bulletins or other paperwork when the train ran over the assortment of coins. The result was flattened coins and my friend was out of $1.91 poorer.

Gonut

Gonut1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a friend put a succesion of coins; penny,
> nickle, dime, quarter, half and a dollar on a rail
> each an inch or so apart.

Our crosing of the St Croix River has a 10 mph speed restriction, and a number of times I've had people from a campsite at the end of the bridge put quarters on the track, then hide in the weeds. So, I'll stop and pick up the quarters, then smile and wink at the dumbfounded individuals as they just stand there with their jaws dropped.

So, yeah, I guess you CAN stop a train with a quarter!

Hello,
Now being the honest person that I am.....
Me and my one bud when we were young and obviosly very very bored, went to the local tracks (BRC along 59th street) and lined up rocks on one side of the rail, for about 4-5 city blocks, took us about 2 hours or so, and we waited.
Well train shows up moving pretty quick (maybe 40 mph) and hits those rocks....it was like a friggin machine gun going off. I popped my head up for a clearer view when one pops me square in the head, knocked me damn 5 feet.
Lesson learned....dont put sh*t on the tracks.....it may shoot out at ya.
TheHammer
Mark

During the Portland Union Station 100th Birthday celebration (in 1996), there were all kinds of people putting pennies, nickels, whatever, on the rails used by the Sumpter Valley #19 (which had just been restored, and was ready to head home to the Sumpter Valley RR in eastern Oregon.) I was surprised (having heard all the horror stories from my Operation Lifesaver presentations) that people were doing this in the middle of a huge crowd, AND nobody was stopping them. I managed to pick up a penny which landed about 50 feet from the rail or so...