Pennies on Train Tracks
by Cassie, March 25th, 2011 | No Comments
Jonathan and I had never put pennies on train tracks, so we decided to go try it out last weekend. We placed several different coins on the train tracks going through Water Works Park in Des Moines. Unfortunately, the trains do not come by very frequently, so we were not able to see the train run over the coins. We returned the next day, and none of the coins were still on the tracks! We looked all over, and then we spotted one of our coins! We managed to find all our coins, and every coin had been run over by the train! It rained the night before, so we think the rain may have knocked the coins off the tracks.
These are the pennies we put on the tracks, and they were completely flattened.
The coin on the left is a nickel, and the coin on the right is a quarter. Both coins were also completely flattened.
We placed a couple other coins at another spot along the tracks just beyond a bridge. These coins were still somewhat recognizable as coins and did not seem to have been hit with as much force as the other coins. We think this may have been because the train slowed down for the bridge, but we’re not sure exactly why these coins turned out differently. The smooth side of the coin was the side that was set face up on the tracks. The other side was rough with some bumps on it.
This is the smooth side of the coins.
This is the rough side of the coins
