



45 + 35 points
Ironing Iron with the Iron Horse by Darkaardvark
August 30th, 2007 8:58 PM
It was amazingly nice out on Thursday so I figured a little tasking-by-bike was called for. I wanted to lay something neat on the tracks but it was tough to find something that: was flattenable and harmless to the train, while cool and yet without significant value. So I figured I'd try to get a flattened version of every major coin (penny, dime, nickel, quarter).
Problem: I don't know the train schedule.
So I figured I'd head out, lay down some coinage, and come back the next day (I know a train runs at around 1 A.M., but I didn't really want to head out then). But I wasn't too optimistic about my chances of succeeding- the odds of losing all the coins somehow were very high.
Where to lay the coins? I didn't want anyone hassling me in the process. A secluded offshoot of an already secluded trail... bingo.
So I went out, and picked up some gum along the way. I put a little bit on the bottom of the coins when I stuck them to the track. I figured at least that way they would stay on until a train came.
I got off the tracks and got ready to leave, but I figured it was a nice day and I might as well wait a few minutes and see if a train was coming. After about a minute or two, I thought I heard a train whistle. Could I really be that lucky? After I didn't hear anything for a little while, my hopes started to fade- but then the whistle came very clearly.
I was super lucky and managed to hit the exact time that the train was coming by! Sorry, but it was exciting. It definitely honked... but I don't know if it honked at me, even though I was visible as it came past, holding a camera. They either didn't see me, thought I was insane, or knew exactly what I was doing because the conductor was an SF0 player and didn't want me to get bonus points.
I went to investigate afterward, and surprisingly, one of the coins actually managed to stay on the rails. The others were nowhere to be seen. I searched for a while, but eventually started to give up- the rocks were glistening in the sun and it was really hard to find anything among them. But just as I was getting ready to leave I found one coin in the rocks, and then another. The rest were gone for good, hidden even after a few more minutes of searching.
I hopped on my bike and rode off. Success! Thank you, train, for increasing my efficiency by 50%.
(Oh, and the gum was totally obliterated. RIP.)
Ah... love that sound
Scroll down for the video of the train!
Problem: I don't know the train schedule.
So I figured I'd head out, lay down some coinage, and come back the next day (I know a train runs at around 1 A.M., but I didn't really want to head out then). But I wasn't too optimistic about my chances of succeeding- the odds of losing all the coins somehow were very high.
Where to lay the coins? I didn't want anyone hassling me in the process. A secluded offshoot of an already secluded trail... bingo.
So I went out, and picked up some gum along the way. I put a little bit on the bottom of the coins when I stuck them to the track. I figured at least that way they would stay on until a train came.
I got off the tracks and got ready to leave, but I figured it was a nice day and I might as well wait a few minutes and see if a train was coming. After about a minute or two, I thought I heard a train whistle. Could I really be that lucky? After I didn't hear anything for a little while, my hopes started to fade- but then the whistle came very clearly.
I was super lucky and managed to hit the exact time that the train was coming by! Sorry, but it was exciting. It definitely honked... but I don't know if it honked at me, even though I was visible as it came past, holding a camera. They either didn't see me, thought I was insane, or knew exactly what I was doing because the conductor was an SF0 player and didn't want me to get bonus points.
I went to investigate afterward, and surprisingly, one of the coins actually managed to stay on the rails. The others were nowhere to be seen. I searched for a while, but eventually started to give up- the rocks were glistening in the sun and it was really hard to find anything among them. But just as I was getting ready to leave I found one coin in the rocks, and then another. The rest were gone for good, hidden even after a few more minutes of searching.
I hopped on my bike and rode off. Success! Thank you, train, for increasing my efficiency by 50%.
(Oh, and the gum was totally obliterated. RIP.)
Ah... love that sound
Scroll down for the video of the train!
All together

It was really difficult to get a photo of these, the camera wouldn't focus on them right because the details were so subtle. It kind of looks fake, but it isn't.
The Full Train
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If it skips in the middle, it's because I cut out about a minute of more identical train.
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posted by Loki on August 31st, 2007 2:47 AM
Spent rather a lot of time as a kid playing near train tracks, but for some reason I never did this. I certainly remember hearing about it. Can't imagine why I never tried it. That's going to have to be remedied.
posted by K! on August 31st, 2007 7:20 AM
"Anytime is train time!"
This really proves that true...
We used to do this all the time when I was a kid! It was the super cool thing to do because we weren't allowed to be playing by the tracks....we thought we were rebels!