My experiments with coin deformations
During the fifties, when I was
in the middle school, we were staying in railway quarters in Bareilly in
UP. Our house was just next to the railway station with its front door
hardly 15 ft from the railway line.
Naturally all our extra-curricular activities were centered around anything and everything to do with the railways. We used to observe dozens of different types of trains passing in front of our house.
Once a very strong desire arose to test as to what would happen to a coin if we let the train go over it. There it started. One of my playmates got a wild thought- what if the train slips while going over it and crashes?! I did not agree with him , though a doubt persisted in my mind too.
As luck would have it, my cousin from Delhi came to spend time with us. With nothing else to do, we were all set to start with our experiments. In those times, all types of coins were in vogue--round ones, square ones and those with a hole, and those made of copper, nickel or brass.
Now we tried various coins flicked surreptitiously without letting our parents know. After sometime, we became experts in predicting the shape that the coin would take after getting repetitively pounded under the wheels of the train. In some cases the coins got flattened and stuck to the track . With great difficulty we were able to dislodge it. After placing the coin we used to put our ear to the track to try to guess from which side the train would arrive. Since playing near the track was certainly not a safe activity we had to be watchful not to get caught by the elders. Once we placed a heavy duty needle (the type used to to sew quilts). We were thrilled to find that it took the shape of crude knife ! (The next day I overheard my mother inquiring from our domestic help whether she had seen this needle somewhere.)
With the data and the collection of exhibits we could have produced a voluminous research report with the title running something like "Predicting shapes and sizes of various coins when subjected to wheels of various shapes and sizes belonging to goods and passenger trains of Indian Railways". May be our exhibits would have found a place in the railway museum.
Naturally all our extra-curricular activities were centered around anything and everything to do with the railways. We used to observe dozens of different types of trains passing in front of our house.
Once a very strong desire arose to test as to what would happen to a coin if we let the train go over it. There it started. One of my playmates got a wild thought- what if the train slips while going over it and crashes?! I did not agree with him , though a doubt persisted in my mind too.
As luck would have it, my cousin from Delhi came to spend time with us. With nothing else to do, we were all set to start with our experiments. In those times, all types of coins were in vogue--round ones, square ones and those with a hole, and those made of copper, nickel or brass.
Now we tried various coins flicked surreptitiously without letting our parents know. After sometime, we became experts in predicting the shape that the coin would take after getting repetitively pounded under the wheels of the train. In some cases the coins got flattened and stuck to the track . With great difficulty we were able to dislodge it. After placing the coin we used to put our ear to the track to try to guess from which side the train would arrive. Since playing near the track was certainly not a safe activity we had to be watchful not to get caught by the elders. Once we placed a heavy duty needle (the type used to to sew quilts). We were thrilled to find that it took the shape of crude knife ! (The next day I overheard my mother inquiring from our domestic help whether she had seen this needle somewhere.)
With the data and the collection of exhibits we could have produced a voluminous research report with the title running something like "Predicting shapes and sizes of various coins when subjected to wheels of various shapes and sizes belonging to goods and passenger trains of Indian Railways". May be our exhibits would have found a place in the railway museum.
I am fascinated to learn that you did this too. In Chakradharpur the railway tracks ran just in front of our bungalow and Raghunath and I did this too - only I know we did not do a scientific study of different types of coins and trains.
ReplyDeleteWe would also place a stone from the ballast used to shore upo the track, on the steel rail and watch it get crushed to fine powder under the wheels of the train.
I think we got away with what would now be considerered attempted sabotage of the railway.
Either being arrested for sabotage or Dad/Mum or Mama/Mami in the case of Sr Nagraj, would have been arrested for negligence and putting a child at risk.
DeleteTruly that would have been some collection. although I never lived near the tracks, the railways have always fascinated me. My memory of tracks and lessons learned was when one of the track inspectors once took me on a trolley inspection ride (with Dad's permission) when I went with Dad on one of his school or Personnel Inspection trips - I think it was Nagbhir. Those guys told me that they could put their ear to the ground and make out how far a train was! Later as I grew up, in practically every country I have lived in or visited I have made it a point to travel by train -- sometimes with no real reason! this includes trains in Japan, Australia, Thailand, UK, all of Europe, USA and Canada apart from India of course. One of my life's dreams is now to do the Trans Canada route Vancouver to Montreal by rail. It takes all of 5 days and 4 nights. That's a retirement project.
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